Durza The Shade Rider
by jCOOLn
Summary: What if Durza was sent with the Razac to find Saphira and another egg that the Varden had been able to steal, but when he picks up the other dragon egg it hatches for him. When he touches the baby dragon the magic bond forces the evil spirits out of his body transforming him into the first non evil shade. Now Durza must help Eragon, Saphira, and his own dragon make it to the Varden
1. Chapter 1

I DO NOT OWN ERAGON OR ANY OF THE INHERITANCE SERIES/BOOKS/ETC…

"Ahhhh, how could you lose not one, but two dragon eggs? Do you not understand how important those two particular dragon eggs were to me, or are you too stupid to, and are unable to wrap your tiny mind around the concept of me reviving the dragon riders" demanded Galbatorix. He had been in a bad mood for years since two of his only female dragon eggs had been stolen, but now that he had missed his chance to recover them thanks to that pesky elf woman he was being forced to endure the king's rage, and that was far from pleasant.

"I am sorry my king, but she used a teleportation spell on the eggs before I could get to her, but do not fear I was able to track the eggs, and will leave immediately to recover them for you" spoke Durza, the kings right hand man, slave, and personal shade. It was an insult to his nature, his power, and his pride to have this mad man know his true name, but there was little he could do about it since he was not going to just become good in one night.

"You had better, or I will kill you and get a new shade that can actually do the job I sent him out to do" shouted the king.

Durza nods his head, and begins to leave, but not before the king calls out to him.

"Make sure the eggs are unharmed, and if they have hatched bring me their riders unharmed as well" spoke the king with a mad gleam in his eye.

Durza just bowed his head, and continued to leave to fulfill the job his master had forced upon him. As Durza left the king's chambers four creatures seemed to come out of the shadows, but for Durza it was easy to tell they had been waiting there for him.

"What does the king wish of us" asked one of them, in their weird clicking voice.

"We are going dragon hunting. We are to recover the eggs that were stolen from the king, and if they have hatched, are to recover their riders as well" spoke Durza in a condescending tone. He honestly did not like these creatures. They were like some kind of monsters that never stopped eating, and always reeked of dead body parts which only left Durza to believe they did not bath, or even clean themselves. There was one thing to be evil, but an entirely other thing to be a savage.

"So it shall be done then. We will ride the leatherblaka, which should shorten the trip to a week at most" spoke one of the razak, as he silently walked across the stone floor with practiced ease. Durza, being a shade as powerful as he was, did not need to practice such a skill as it came naturally to him. It was one of the many benefits of being a shade. He did not need to sleep or eat, he did not get tired, he was stronger, faster, had better reflexes, senses than most of the creatures in Alegasia, and was damn near un-killable, so long as nobody stabbed him through the heart he would be fine.

"First I need to retrieve a suitable sword from the master black smith" spoke Durza, as he walked towards the dungeon were the man worked. It took a while, as Durza was certainly in no rush to snap the king's whims, before he got there, but he knew it would be worth it when he did. Opening up the large metal door, Durza was greeted by the only face in the entire castle he could stomach.

"Oh hey there Durza, what brings you down hear" asked the master smith.

"The king is sending me on a mission to retrieve his precious dragon eggs for him, and the insipid elf broke my last sword. I would just use hers, but you know how the king feels about anything elf related" spoke Durza. It annoyed him that he could not use the elf woman's sword, as it was without a doubt without equal in its make, except the swords the riders, but Galbatorix was adamant about his soldiers not using elf made weapons.

"Yes the king has no love for the elven race does he? Well no worries, I heard about your weapon problems, so I got to making you a new sword" spoke the master smith. He stood up, and went over to a bench that had a purple cloth covering it. When the cloth was removed a one and a half sword was present. It was a double sided sword with a silver finish on it. The guard was plain, as it was only a U shaped design. The handle was black, with a gold line spinning around it from guard to the bottom. The end was a simple spiral design. Overall it was a plain looking sword, but Durza's masterful eye could see the amount of time and effort his friend had put into making this sword. It did not compare to an elven made sword, but it would hold its own against any human made sword.

"It is wonderful. I will make sure to get as much use out of it before it is destroyed" spoke Durza as he left the room.

Outside was dark, and for a normal person seeing would almost be impossible, but Durza was a shade so seeing in the dark was as easy for him as seeing in the day. He saw to grey deformed dragon like abominations standing there. One had the four razac on its back, while the other one he could only assume was for him to ride. Swallowing his disgust, Durza jumped on the letherblaka's back, an instantly they were off.

One week of travel with the razac and the leatherblaka was almost unbearable for Durza. They kept looking at him with little beetle like eyes, and the stench was not lost to him, as even the leatherblaka smelled of human decay. Oh how he wished he could just kill them, and tell the king they died in battle. He would never believe that, and killing the king's best assassins just because he did not like the way they smelled would not sit too well with the king that was for sure. There was only one thing Durza could do unfortunately, and that was to endure the disgust he felt for them, and try not to think about the next week he would not only have to travel with them, but possible an unhappy future dragon rider.

Finally after a week of traveling, Durza wanted to do anything other than be around those filthy creatures so he sent them off to do the kings bidding, while he went walking through the forest. It was nice to finally get out of the city, and just be by him-self. Serving the king and his endless demands was very tiresome and he reveled in his partial freedom.

After a week of waiting for those worthless creatures Durza sensed something as he was walking through the forest. There were four magical presences that he knew were not the razac, as they did not possess any magic, and he was sure two of them were human. The other two were different then that first one seemed to be faintly pulling him in, while the other one felt failure, it felt just like SHURKEN!

"It must be the dragon hatchling. Damn that means I won't be able to kill the two humans" thought Durza, as he began to run towards the two humans. With his inhuman speeds it only took a second for him to enter the clearing the two unfortunate souls were residing in.

When he entered the clearing he saw a baby blue dragon who was as blue as the azure sky, a boy who he figured was her rider with blond hair, a strong build, and peasant clothing. The third person there was an old man who many would suspect of being nothing more than a beggar, but Durza's eyes saw it differently. That ring on his finger was the personal crest of the elven royal family, and the other rings were solid gold with very expensive jewels inside of them. He could feel magic coming off of some of them, so he could only assume the old man was a sorcerer of some kind.

What really caught his attention was the sword at the old man's hip. It was the sword he had seen Morzan slay so many people with, it was the rider sword Zar'roc. It was blood red like his hair, and in his opinion the sword that he should be caring around. He was happy his friend had made him his sword, but it was only good by human standards which were the lowest form of standards in Alegasia. The rider swords were the best by all standards in all of Alegasia.

The old man's face was priceless, and Durza could only assume he knew what he was. The boy looked ignorant of what he was, but still was smart enough to know that he was far from being his friend. The dragon, who was much larger than he had expected was eyeing him with those big intelligent blue eyes. She was not like Shruiken. She was a real dragon, who had not lost his mind from being enslaved by Galbatorix, or from losing his name when the last of the dragons in there one moment of glorious magic that left the Foresworn's dragons nothing but crazed wild animals.

"Who are you" asked the boy. He was the least weary of him, but was not completely in the belief that he was not there to get him.

"I am Durza, a shade, who was sent hear by the king to retrieve the two dragon eggs that were stolen from him, and any riders who might have hatched the dragons that were inside the two eggs" spoke Durza, as he slowly advanced on the old man. He really wanted that sword, so the dragon eggs could wait.

"I will not serve the king" shouted Eragon, as he drew some kind of elven made sword. Honestly even peasants had elven made swords, and he a shade, and unfortunately, the right hand man of the king was forced to use scraps.

"That's what they all say" spoke Durza, as he seemed to disappear using speeds neither Brom, nor Eragon could see. When he reappeared, he punched Brom in the solar plexus, causing him to double over. Seeing the human was not able to fight back, Durza leaned down, and removed the Zar'roc blade from his person, and gave it a few experimental swings.

"Now this is what I am talking about. Finally I have a sword that will never break, rust, dull, and can stand the test of time like me" laughed Durza good naturedly. He saw out of the corner of his eye, a large red stone that looked like an oval shaped ruby fall out of the old man's back pack. Grinning, he leaned down and picked it up. After he had the egg, he looked at the boy, who appeared to be getting ready to attack him.

"Don't waste your time. If I can kill elves with a human sword, then you are no match for…" was as far as Durza got before something happened that made everyone's blood run cold. A squeaking sound could be heard coming from the inside of the red dragon egg that was currently tucked underneath Durza's arm. The egg began to shake, then cracks could be seen coming from the upper portion of the egg, and finally a tiny dragon head broke through the egg shell.

The dragon was a beautiful, shiny, blood red color, with eyes like fire. It was looking around making squeaking sounds as he did. She locked eyes with the shocked Durza, before resuming looking around. It eyed the blue dragon for a moment, but after a second continued its investigation of the new world it had just entered.

Everyone was shocked, but none more than Durza. He was asking himself if the dragon had hatched for him, what the king would do when he found out, and so much more. There was only one way to know for sure if he was this beautiful dragon's rider or not, so he mustered up his courage, and reached out with his right hand. The dragon looked at it for a moment, and then stuck its head against the center of his palm.

As soon as the dragon touched the center of his palm pain like none he had ever experienced before came crashing through him. He could feel all of the dozens of spirits that called him home panicking, and trying to escape this new magic that was making its way through his body. They fought at it with all their might, but it did not slow down for even a second, causing the spirits to make a split second decision. All of the spirits that called him started to rip themselves from his body in such an excruciatingly painful way, but he could also feel the dragon magic taking the place of the spirits, repairing his body, and also changing it. He only had a second to ponder this, before a light enveloped him, and then everything went dark.

(With Eragon, and Brom)

"What just happened" demanded Eragon, as he and Saphira recovered from watching such a strange sight.

"I am not sure, but I believe we have just witnessed something that has never been done before. We may have just witnessed the birth of the first shade dragon rider" spoke Brom, as he used magic to recover from the damage Durza had done to him. He could not believe how lucky they were for actually surviving a shade attack, granted he was not trying to kill them, more so it seemed he was far to transfixed on the dragon rider sword to care about them. It made him wonder why a shade would care so much about the sword, but then again who knew what a shade was thinking anyways.

"What should we do? If he wakes up and tries to kill us we will be doomed, or worse dragged off to the king and enslaved by him" spoke Eragon.

"I am not sure. If he wakes up, and tries to kill us then we will be no match for him. Shades are one of the most dangerous beings in all of Alegasia, and there have only been three people to ever kill one on their own, and not one of them was a human, they were either riders or elves. On the other hand if we kill him, then his dragon will more than likely try to kill us. We need every dragon and rider to win this war, if we could convince this shade to join us, then we will be adding some serious fire power to our side, while taking it away from the kings side" spoke Brom, as he measured the pros and cons of his idea.

"We will not be killing the hatchlings rider, and that is final" spoke Saphira, shocking Eragon and Brom.

"But Saphira what if he wakes up and tries to kill us" demanded Eragon.

"The hatchling hates Galbatorix as much as I do, so I know she would not choose a rider that would choose to follow that mad king" spoke Saphira through her emphatic link.

"Are you sure Saphira, because we are gambling a lot on the off chance that this shade does not kill us? I know you think you can handle just about anything, but shades can kill fully grown dragons by themselves" spoke Brom.

"I am positive, now we need to rest we have all had a long day" spoke Saphira, as she curled up to allow Eragon a place to sleep.

"If Saphira thinks it is a good idea, and then I will go along with it" spoke Brom, as he set up his tent.

Eragon just looked around like they were crazy. That shade had defeated them with ease, threatened to take them to Galbatorix, and now they were just going to wait till he woke up to try and convince him to change sides just like that. Eragon was seriously thinking that his friends were cracked, but he had learned to listen to Saphira, so he held his tongue, curled up against Saphira's warm stomach, and went to sleep.

The baby red dragon curled up, and fell asleep on her new riders back. She could not wait to speak with him for the first time tomorrow.

(The next day)

"Uhgg, where am I" asked Durza. He was wondering why he was lying face first in the dirt, with a strange weight in the middle of his back, and oddly he had never felt better. It felt like his body had been being crushed under an unimaginable weight, but now it felt like that weight hat been released, and he was finally free.

Slowly he looked back at what was weighing his back down, and saw a beautiful blood red baby dragon sleeping on his back. He thought she looked cute, and did not want to wake her, but he had so many questions that he could not resist. Speaking in the ancient language, Durza used a spell to gently lift the baby dragon up off of his back, to allow him to stand up, and he then released the spell when the baby dragon was safely in his arms.

He looked around, and saw a strange blue dragon, a peasant boy, and an old man. Looking around some more he saw a sword with a blade the same shade of blood red as his dragon, with an egg sized ruby at the bottom of it. (Go to inheritance wiki, look up Zar'roc, and scroll down until you see a picture that says it was used in the movie. That is what Zar'roc will look like, except it will not have a blue egg shaped jewel, but a blood red one, and instead of a silver guard it will be gold).

"Wow, nice sword" spoke Durza, as he shifted the still sleeping dragon into his left arm, and picked up the sword with his right hand. Only then did he notice a silverish colored marking on his hand that wrapped around his arm, and ran all the way up to his shoulder.

"That's odd, but whatever, this sword is too awesome to care" spoke Durza. (Without the evil spirits inside of him Durza will not be evil, mean, like he used to, but more like the person he was before he became a shade). Durza was examining the sword, and gave it a few swings that to a normal human would have been impossible to even see, let alone defend himself from.

All of Durza's commotion had awakened the baby dragon in his arms. At first she just squirmed and tried to fall asleep again, but it became clear that her rider was far too interested in his new sword to apply subtlety. Slowly she stretched out, and made a high pitched squeaking sound that instantly drew in Durza's attention.

Durza, although had forgotten much of the darker magic that he had learned throughout the centuries thanks to the traumatic experience of having dozens of spirits ripped out of him at once, still could remember a fair deal of magic, as well as all of the mental abilities that came with being a being as powerful as he was, so he decided to extend his mind towards that of the baby dragon. He was happy when she let him insider her mind.

'Hello my name is Durza, and I don't know why you chose me, but I am you rider' spoke Durza through him mind to his dragon.

'Hello my rider, it is nice to meet you after so long, but I am glad we are not in the presence of Galbatorix' thought the baby dragon with venom in her mind.

'I seem to have lost a fair deal of my memories, but I can still remember bits and pieces of the man, and I must say he is far from my favorite person right now' thought Durza, as he could remember the mad king enslaving him which left a bad taste in his mouth.

'So it would seem. I am glad you touched me before you killed the other rider, the old human, and my sister Saphira' spoke the baby dragon.

'Yes so am I, and by the way do you have a name I can call you by' asked Durza.

'No, it is customary for a rider to give his dragon a name, but we will only accept a name of our own choosing' spoke the baby dragon.

'Hmmm, what about Rebi? It means ruby in the ancient language, and your beauty is only comparable to the finest cut rubies' spoke Durza.

The baby dragon seemed the shake for a second, before a purr that could only come from an apex predator came out of her fanged jaw.

'I like that name very much, from this day forward I will be known as Rebi' spoke Rebi, as she flexed her wings in a display of her magnificent.

'Hahaha, well lets wake up or friends shall we' asked Durza.

'Yes lets' spoke Rebi.

Durza walked over to the old one first, and delivered a swift kick to his side getting a grunt of pain from the old man. After he was sure the old man was awake he approached the dragon and rider. He didn't want to get to close and risk having his dragon attack him. It was not that he did not think he could handle her; it just wouldn't do well to harm future allies' dragons, so he conjured up a large amount of water from the water molecules in the air, and dumped it on both rider and dragon. The rider didn't look happy, but the dragon didn't seem to mind a bit of water.

"Hey what was that for, and who are you" asked Eragon. He didn't see the baby dragon in the man's hand or Zar'roc in the other, all he saw was a strange red headed man he had never seen before who just dumped a boat load of water on his head.

"What are you talking about you little brat we met yesterday, don't you remember. I came here to take you back to that mad king, I put the old guy down for the count, and then I became the first shade dragon rider" spoke Durza. 'I mean really how thick can you get' wondered Durza. He hadn't realized that maybe removing the spirits were not the only thing that had happened to him.

"There is no way you are him. You're not all pail, sickly thin, your hair isn't all frizzy, and your teeth aren't well fangs" spoke Eragon, as he tried to process what was going on.

"What are you getting at human" asked Durza, as it began to dawn on him that maybe more then he thought had changed.

"Conjure some more of that water, and look for yourself" spoke Eragon, as everyone else was looking at him funny.

Durza just flicked his wrist, and a pool of water appeared the size of a hand mirror and as flat as class. When Durza looked into the mirror he was shocked at what he saw. His skin was no longer the sickly white it had been, and took on a nice tan like he had been a farm hand for a while, and his muscles wear the same. His teeth were pearl white, strait, and most importantly back to the way they were before he had become a shade, although his canines were still a little elongated and looked very sharp. His eyes did not look like they were full of hate and death, but now look full of passion. His eyes had once been an evil maroon color, but now they were a passionate ruby red. His hair looked smooth as silk, and matched the color of his eyes, but the strangest thing that had happened was it seemed he had de-aged. He looked like he was sixteen again, the same age he was when he became a shade (I don't know how old Durza was when he became a shade, so I am just going to make it 16).

All Durza could say was "Holy crap!"

"It would seem you have gone through some changes their Mr. Shade" spoke Brom, as he approached the shade. He would have never done that before, but if a dragon was willing to accept him, then so was he.

"You're telling me. In less the 24 hours I have gone from being an evil, enslaved shade, to a happy, free, dragon rider shade, although I highly doubt I am anything like the other shades in this world" spoke Durza.

"That is more than likely since you no longer have those evil spirits inside of your body dictating your actions. So let me ask you, what are you going to do now" asked Brom.

"Well obviously I am going to make sure neither me nor Rebi hear is captured by the mad king. I need to learn more about the dragons, riders, and anything else I can to help Rebi and I. The king was not very forthcoming on information about dragons, and their riders" spoke Durza, as he sheathed Zar'roc in a dark maroon scabbard with gold lining, which he had taken off of Brom's person during the fight, and began to slowly scratch Rebi's neck with his still slightly sharp finger nails. Rebi seemed to be enjoying his actions because she started to make a purring sound like that of a cat.

"Well if you are will I would be more than willing to teach you everything I know about dragons and their riders. I have a vast wealth of knowledge that I would be willing to share with you, if you were willing to help us out" spoke Brom.

"And what is it that you want for this information" asked Durza.

"We need to get to the Varden as quickly as possible so that Eragon and Saphira can be safe until they are ready to confront the king. If you come with us you will be able to learn everything I know about dragons and their riders, while we would gain a strong warrior to help us make it to the Varden" spoke Brom, as he eyed Durza with a friendly smile.

"It does sound like a good deal, and Rebi and I will have someone to talk to so I guess we could agree to this deal. First things first, how old is Saphira" asked Durza.

"She is one month old, why" asked Eragon.

"It only took her a month to reach such an amazing size. That is good, as I want Rebi hear to be able to get to a good size fast as possible so she will not be so vulnerable" spoke Durza, although he grimaced slightly midway through his speech when Rebi bit him for saying she was vulnerable.

"Yes dragons grow very quickly, and they grow to very large sizes to" spoke Brom.

"Don't I know it? Shrunken is a giant. He is easily four stories tall when he is asleep, and mean as a summer day is long" spoke Durza, as he started to follow Brom as he began to pack up all of this things to leave.

"So where are we going exactly? I know you will be making your way to the Varden, but it can't be your only destination" spoke Durza.

"We are going to hunt down and kill the razac that killed my uncle" spoke Eragon with much anger in his voice.

"I am sorry about your uncle, but I don't think you will be catching the razac until your dragon is strong enough to carry you on her back" spoke Durza, as he followed Brom down a dirt path towards Therinsford to get some horses to ride.

"And why do I need Saphira to carry me to catch the razac" demanded Eragon.

"Besides the fact that they are much stronger and faster than you, they also have flying mounts which means that you will never be able to catch up with them" spoke Durza. He may not have liked the razac, but that didn't mean he didn't learn as much about them as he could. Know your enemy.

"What do you mean they have flying mounts" demanded Eragon. He just kept getting angrier and angrier.

"The razac go through a sort of evolution where they shed their bodies like caterpillars do to become butterflies, but instead of a caterpillar you have a razac and instead of getting a butterfly you get a bastardized monster like dragon creature that is very vicious" spoke Durza.

"So wait you are saying that they can turn into creatures sort of like dragons" asked Eragon. Brom was paying close attention to this as well, as not even he was able to get this king of information about the razac.

"Yes though it take roughly forty years for it to happen. When a razac is young they look like disgusting beetle like creatures that crawl around on the floor looking for flesh to eat, then they shed their bodies and become what you have seen, and then they shed that skin, and become the leatherblaka finishing their evolutionary cycle. The young ride on their parents like mounts. That is how they get around so fast, plus the fact that they are already fast on their own. I can only assume that the razac are moving at high speeds to try and get their mounts to report back to wherever it is they live" spoke Durza, as they started continued to walk.

Eragon asked many more questions about the razac over the next month, and Durza asked many questions about dragons and their riders to Brom. Finally, after a month of walking down the dirt road, they came upon a bridge that leads into the village of Therinsford.

"Hold on their travelers. This is my bridge, and if you want to get by you need to pay the ferryman" spoke the repugnant human. Sometimes Durza cursed his senses for being so sharp as they forced him the smell and differentiate between the awful smell coming off of the man making the experience ten times worse.

"How much" asked Brom. Durza was wondering why he did not just enter the man's mind, and force him to move, while Eragon was wondering why he did not just push the slob out of the way.

"Five crowns and I'll let you pass" said the man with a nasty grin on his face. Durza was not going to pay that price, and would reject if asked, but he was not above letting other pay for their own stupidity, so if Brom of Eragon paid then that was their business. He was glad that Rebi was big enough now to fly on her own, and she had been annoying hear lately about him riding her, but he just wanted to wait just a little while longer to make sure she was big enough to ride. She didn't like it, but agreed as she could not force him to do it, but since he would never fight his dragon with force she probably could make him if she chose to use force.

Eragon tried to protest, but Brom shut him up with a sharp glare. After that Brom paid the pig, but 'accidentally' bumped into the man. After they were a fair distance away from the smelly pig, Brom revealed to Eragon what he had done, and also instilled a lesson into what had happened. Durza was suppressed at the cunning and smarts of the old man, but Durza could tell that he was withholding lots of information, but did not press him about it.

"Alright now that we are here we will need to get a couple of horses" spoke Brom, but Durza cut him off.

"Ohhh, no you don't. I have spent almost all of my life riding those smelly, slow creatures, and I will not do so anymore. I am many times faster than any horse could dream of being and I can out last any horse on this earth. I will run the entire way if I must, but I refuse to ride one of those pit ponies" spoke Durza. He didn't like the smell of horses, and was actually planning on just riding Rebi if it came down to it. It would be like killing two birds with one stone.

"Alright, it is your choice after all" spoke Brom, as he and Eragon left to go get some horses.

Durza left, and went to the local tanner to get some leather to make a settled for Rebi. When he got there he was greeted by a friendly man who sold high quality leather for cheap prices. Apparently he was falling on hard times with his daughter being sick, an unable to afford the medication, so Durza made a deal with the man. He would heal her, if he got the leather for free. The man was skeptical, but when Durza waved his hand over his daughter's prone form she instantly started to get better. After five minutes she was as good as new. The man was very happy, and was more than willing to give Durza the leather he wanted for free.

Durza extended his mind, and found Eragon outside of the village, with two animals he figured were the horses he and Brom had bought, but he did not sense Brom with him. Shrugging, Durza threw the back full of leather that he had gotten from the tanner and started making his way towards Eragon. When he got there, Brom had made his way there as well, so he was right on time.

As they made their way towards Yazuac, but first they had to pass through a long desert that was flat as glass and was hard to navigate if you could not read the stars. As they were walking Brom noticed a powerful blast of wind coming their way.

"Watch out, the winds hear are very dangerous" shouted Brom.

"Wait, what about Saphira and Rebi" asked Durza, as he saw the looks or realization and horror on Brom and Eragon's faces.

'Rebi/Saphira get down here, hurry' shouted Eragon, and Durza, as they projected their minds at the same time. Instantly Rebi and Saphira started to race down towards the ground.

"They won't make it" shouted Eragon.

"They don't have to" shouted Durza, as he lifted his hand that was marked by Rebi when he touched her, and pointed them at the incoming storm. Using his incredible magical reserves he was able to hold back the oncoming blast of wind long enough for Saphira and Rebi to make it down. What he was not expecting was when he released his spell, the wind was still strong enough to catch hold of the dragon's wings and rip them up off the ground causing them to roll around uncontrollably.

Durza was so worried about Rebi that he did not control is speed and strength like he usually did and blasted off at break neck speeds. He easily out ran Eragon who was trying to get to Saphira, and caught up with Rebi. Using his inhuman strength Durza caught Rebi, and forced her to stop rolling, then he used a sticking spell to stick her wings to the side of her body to keep them from being caught in the wind, he rushed over and helped Eragon with Saphira. Once that was done he rushed back over to Rebi to make sure she was ok.

'Rebi are you alright' asked Durza, as he franticly started to check her from head to claw for any injuries.

'Yes, but the wind was so powerful I just couldn't save myself. I was so scared, thank you little one for helping me' spoke Rebi, as she nudged her head into the crook of his neck lovingly.

'I would do anything for you, you know that. Now come on we have to keep moving or the others will leave us behind' spoke Durza, as he walk alongside Rebi as they continued to walk towards Yazuac.

It took a week, but finally Yazuac was in sight. Durza had taken to riding Rebi whenever possible, as they both enjoyed each other's company to much to be apart for too long. When they saw Yazuac come into sight, Durza joined Brom and Eragon and began to walk alongside their horses.

"Why are there no people hear" asked Durza. He could see from great distances, so seeing that there were no people in the streets was odd.

"I don't know. Maybe we should take the side entrance into the city" spoke Brom. Durza and Eragon nodded and followed the old man.

"There are no dogs barking" spoke Eragon.

"This feels like a trap" spoke Durza. He knew he would be getting in so much trouble with Rebi if he was attacked without her there to protect him, but he was a shade for crying out loud. He didn't need his baby dragon there to look out for him. He had killed multiple razac before on the king's orders, and if he had to do it again he would do it with ease. He made sure Zar'roc was firmly strapped to his back before entering the city.

As they entered the city they were greeted by the sight of dead bodies everywhere. They had black arrows sticking out of their backs, and looks of absolute horror on their faces. Durza knew this sight well, as he had been forced to deal with the Urgals on many occasions.

"What could have done this" asked Eragon, obviously in shock.

"It is the work of the Urgals. These arrows are of their make, and they are the only ones who would do that" spoke Durza, as he pointed to a mound of people who had been killed by the Urgals. In the center of the mound was a pike with a dead infant impaled on it. Eragon vomited at the sight, but Brom and Durza just looked at it with sad eyes.

"Nobody deserves to have their lives taken from then like this. They deserve a pyre to honor their memories" spoke Durza, as he pointed his finger at the mound and spoke one word "Brisingr". Instantly black flames engulfed the mound of bodies and were quickly starting to burn the bodies to ash when Durza felt something coming. Before he could say anything Brom shouted out to them.

"There are still Urgals hear, run" shouted Brom, as he and Eragon forced their steed to try and flee the Urgals, but were too late. One Urgal knocked Eragon off of his steed, and another one with an ax attacked Brom.

Durza drew Zar'roc from its sheath, and was about to go and help Eragon, when a sound that sounded much like a deranged bull met his ears. Looking to the side he was met with the sight of a ten foot tall Kull.

Kull were the elite of the Urgal. They were stood on average ten feet tall, had ram like horns, fur covered much of their bodies, and their muscles were very large, but their skin was like a set of armor.

This Kull did not seem to like him, and charged him instantly. Durza instantly raised Zar'roc, and cut off one of the Kull's horns. This only seemed to make it madder, not that Durza cared. When it got close enough it raised one of its massive fists, and swung it at Durza. Durza ducked under its fist, and drove Zar'roc into the Kull's heart killing it instantly.

"Ha, maybe they should call me Durza Kull killer" laughed Durza, as he went to help Eragon and Brom. He saw Brom was still on his horse and was having a hard time fending off the Urgal, so Durza quickly dispatched it for him.

"Thanks for the help. It was rather difficult to fight that Urgal while on SnowFire. Do you know where Eragon is" asked Brom. Before Durza could say anything a loud explosion caught them both off guard. The quickly rushed to the sound of the explosion and found Eragon limping out of an ally way but he didn't seem to be harmed; the two Urgal on the other hand looked to have been blown to pieces.

"Damn he really knows how to kill Urgal" spoke Durza, but then he looked up into the sky after hearing the sound of flapping with his enhanced hearing.

"Yes, but he is to young and inexperienced to be using magic just yet, especially in this amount" spoke Brom.

That was when two angry dragons landed on either side of Brom and Durza. They both looked enraged, and Durza was not looking forward to the tong lashing Rebi was no doubt going to give him. He could only imagine that Eragon had called Saphira for back up, and that is how they found out about this little incident. Now Rebi was going to jump his bones for not contacting her as well.

'Who did this, I will kill them' blasted Saphira using her emphatic link.

'Don't worry about it we go them' said Durza, although this was not the response Rebi was looking for apparently.

'Why did you not call for me? Why was it Eragon called Saphira, but you did not see fit to inform me that you were in danger' roared Rebi.

'Look there is a big difference between me and Eragon in many aspects. I simple was not in any danger that I could not handle with the simplest of ease. That is why I did not call you, I just didn't want you to worry' spoke Durza, although once again it apparently was not what Rebi was looking for.

'Just because you weren't in trouble does not mean that I was not worried. How do you think it makes me feel when Saphira tells me you all are in trouble, yet you did not see fit to inform me of the situation' demanded Rebi.

'Look I am sorry ok. I did not mean to make you upset, it was just an unfortunate accident. You have to understand that though I may appear to be young I am a shade, and there is a reason shades are easily some of the most feared creatures in all of Alegasia. I am not a helpless child Rebi' spoke Durza, as he caressed her jaw line and scratched it with his steal hard fingernails.

'I know you can take care of yourself little one, it is just you always seem to make me worried about you' spoke Rebi in a sad voice. It killed Durza on the inside to hear her sad, so he kissed her on the snout and reassured her how much she meant to him. Apparently that was what she wanted to hear, and eventually she forgave him.

"How is our little sleeping beauty" asked Durza, as he approached Brom and Saphira.

"He should be fine when he wakes up if not a little tired. He used up a lot of magic which could have killed him, but he seems to be hearty enough so I can only say he is lucky. He must have used the same spell you use when you cremated the villagers, because there were small blue flames in the ally" spoke Brom.

"Ahhh, so he used the word for fire in the ancient language and channeled it through his arrow thus killing the Urgal that were trying to kill him. I must say the boy does have great potential" spoke Durza.

"Yes he does, but there is no time for that now. We need to leave before were attacked by another group of Urgals. By the way nice going with that Kull" spoke Brom, as he lifted Eragon up, strapped him to his horse, and rode of on Snowfire's back.

Durza nodded his head, mounted Rebi, and flew off with her and Saphira to watch their two charges from above.

Over the next month they continued to follow the razac's tracks although Durza saw no point in it, but he had a sneaking suspicion that Brom was using the hunt as an excuse to continue to teach Eragon. One could only imagine what it would be like if an unprepared rider and his dragon showed up at the Varden. The political warfare could easily destroy the Varden as well as the rider's chances of stopping the mad king.

Eragon did get much better not only with a sword but also with magic. Brom had been reluctant to teach him, but it seemed the boy had a knack for annoying people into doing things that he wanted. He was even able to hit the old man a few time with the make shift sword. It was funny when that gave him a big head and he challenged him to a duel. Needless to say the match was short, and Eragon was sporting a personal bruise courtesy of Durza.

The tracks lead to the small village of Daret. When they got there they had Saphira and Rebi hide nearby so that they could be there if needed. When they got close to the village a row of archers popped up along the roof tops, and a man with a broad sword jumped out from behind a cart.

"Halt what are you people doing in Daret" asked the man.

Durza saw Eragon starting to panic, but remained calm. A small town of peasants was not worth putting up such a fuss over. He was too fast and magically gifted to be worried about peasants.

"We are travelers looking for supplies" spoke Brom.

"You are heavily armed for simple travelers" spoke the man.

"So are you" spoke Brom.

"These are dark times for us all. Bandits and Urgal have been seen pillaging the country side and a few have even attacked us hear. If you are really just travelers then would it be fine if you just told us what you wanted and we get it for you. That way you can pay us up front and we don't have to worry about anyone getting hurt" spoke the man.

Durza was thinking about how that sounded like a mugging, but did not comment.

"Yes it will be fine" spoke Brom as he handed the man a list of supplies they needed.

After a while a runner brought them all of the things that they needed. After they made sure that they had everything they began to leave. The man inquired about any other villages, and Brom told them of the unfortunate news that had befallen Yazuak. They were all saddened by that, but their spirits weren't broken. In fact their spirits seemed stronger than ever. After giving the people of Daret the news they wanted Eragon, Saphira, Brom, Durza, and Rebi stet off to continue chasing the razac.


	2. Chapter 2

(Durza the Shade Rider Chapter 2)

"Brom, where are we going? I know we are following the Ra'zac, but you can't seriously expect to go 'there' to follow them. If 'they' find out who me and the brat are we will have to fight the entire city, and I don't doubt me and Rebi will be able to escape, but you three will be in a tight situation if the Ra'zac have set up an ambush in 'that' city" spoke Durza as he walked beside Brom and Eragon's horses. He was pretty sure he knew where they were going but he had no idea what the man was thinking bringing two dragon riders to one of the empires biggest cities.

"We are, but it is more of a need to do thing, and not a want to do thing. I know a man that I can trust with my life that lives in Dras-Leona. He will shelter us, while we look for the Ra'zac. In the mean time I will continue to teach Eragon and yourself the ways of the rider. It will be dangerous, but the rewards will be great. By the way Eragon did you use you powers on the man back in Daret" asked Brom trying to change the subject. Durza knew what he was doing, but decided to let it slide. He was sure he would at least make it out of Dras-Leona, and highly doubted anyone in the city would have the power to even give him a decent challenge. If Brom wanted to risk his and Eragon's life then so be it, but he was not going to die for the old man that was for sure.

"No, there was no need to" spoke Eragon, as he led his hoarse down the road.

"Wrong! You could have figured out his intentions towards us, you could have known if he was going to try and kill us, but thankfully I was able to find out that there was a good chance that I could have talked our way out, which is what I did" spoke Brom, as he rode his hoarse that Durza knew he paid way too much for.

"How could I have known what he was thinking? Am I supposed to be able to see into people's minds no" asked Eragon, as he looked at Brom with a disbelieving look on his face.

"Come now you should know the answer to that. You can talk to Saphira and your hoarse with your mind, so why would you not be able to look into other people's minds" chided Brom, as he used that weird eyebrow look that was creeping Durza out.

"So I can look into people's minds" asked Eragon with amazement in his voice.

"Yes, but it is a power you must use sparingly. A persons mind is his last sanctuary, and you must never desecrate it unless circumstances force you to do otherwise" spoke Brom, but he was interrupted by a snot of disapproval from Durza.

"Do you have another view on this matter" asked Brom, as he looked at Durza. He could already tell he didn't believe in the whole 'don't desecrate others minds' bit.

"Why would you use that kind of power 'sparingly'? It could help you in so many points in life. If you keep your mind extended you will know if someone is trying to assassinate you, if you really need something, but the person you're trying to get it from is being a pain in the ass about it then you could use this power to 'convince' them to see things your way. It is a very useful skill and you're talking about only using it when your life is on the ling which is pointless" spoke Durza. 'Only waiting till your life is on the line to use a skill that requires finesse is just ridiculous. The old man is either cracked or far too noble for his own good' thought Durza. He could feel Rebi in his mind agreeing with him.

"Well the riders of old had heavy punishments for anyone who used these skills without a valuable reason, and they were very sever in their punishments indeed" spoke Brom. He could see that Durza did not care for nobility, but he need Eragon to carry on the nobility that was the riders. If Durza had his way they would turn into a vicious bunch that did anything to achieve their goals. While it would keep the peace, it would bring fear and suspicion upon the dragons and their riders.

"Well that didn't save the riders of old from someone like Galbatorix now did it. He was ruthless, and it worked for him, so I don't see why trying to mold Eragon into the image of the riders of old is such a big deal to you when they lost" spoke Durza, as he shook his head like he was arguing about something pointless.

"Can people defend their minds" asked Eragon trying to break up the awkward moment.

"Yes, but it is a skill that takes much time to practice. Out of all the people who can use this ability only a handful of them could defend their minds against someone like you" spoke Brom, but he was once again interrupted by Durza's snorting sounds. Before he could speak again Durza cut him off.

"Are you being serious, or are you just trying to fill the kids head up with crap? Only a hand full of people could defend their minds against someone like Eragon. Just because he is a rider does not mean he can all of a sudden overcome the numerous masters of the mind arts. Hell even people with a year of practice could easily defend from any attempt he can make at the moment, and since he does not even know how to defend his mind taking him over would be like a walk in the park. I can't believe you would say something like that. If I am right then even newborn elves possess skills with the mind that would easily crush Eragon, if Saphira does not help him, and even she does not have any real training at the skill. She would only by trying to use brute force to get rid of the intruders presence that could end up damaging Eragon's mind. Any decent practioner of magic would make the boy look like a joke, and here you are making him think he has some kind of super power" chided Durza, as raised his nose at Brom like he just smelled a foul smell. Brom looked away, but Durza knew he was trying to come up with a witty coment to swing the conversation back his way. Durza knew Brom knew much more about the elves, dragons, and the riders then he was letting on, and he was not going to get played like the child Eragon is by the old man.

"Well the best way to defend one's mind is by focusing all of your mental power on one image. That way when someone tries to enters your mind all they find is that one image that you are focusing on so much. It is difficult at first, and you need a steady mind, but eventually you will be able to do it like it is second nature and that will make it much easier as well" spoke Brom as he ignored the second awkward moment he and Durza had had. They had been moving at considerable speeds so getting to Dras-Leona should not take too long.

After a while Saphira and Rebi landed beside them as they made their camp. Rebi crawled up beside Durza as he scratched her on her snout and under her chin with his sharp fingernails. She gave out a low cat like purr, and Durza knew she was happy. The same could not be said for Saphira though. When she landed she gave Eragon a low grow, and that surprised Durza.

'What is her problem' asked Durza as he looked over at Saphira as she slammed Eragon onto the ground, although Durza could tell she made sure he was not hurt, and began ranting about how he was weak, which Durza agreed with, and that he got into far too much trouble, which Durza agreed with again.

'She is jealous. She sees you riding on me, and feels that her rider is neglecting her. She wants him to ride her, but he keeps avoiding the subject. From what I learned their first ride was far from pleasant. Apparently when the Ra'zac came she snapped him up and flew him up into the spine. Only problem was there was not saddle, so he scales left him considerably raw' spoke Rebi as she nuzzled up to him. When she sat beside the fire her scales truly shone, and Durza never forgot to complement her on how beautiful she looked in the fire light. She always seemed to get flustered and then lick him all over. If there was one thing Durza learned about dragons it was they loved compliments.

'Oh, well I guess I understand where they are both coming from. It is kind of Saphira's fault that Eragon does not want to ride her, but at the same time Eragon needs to learn to get over things and do what is expected of him as a rider' spoke Durza as he rubbed Rebi's jaw line. She truly loved her rider, and she knew he felt the same about her.

'Tomorrow you will be riding me and that is the end of that' blasted Saphira through her emphatic link so that everyone could hear her. Eragon just nodded his head before he looked over at Brom.

"Well you do have the saddle, and if you two stay out of sight I don't see how it could be a problem. I am sure Durza and Rebi wouldn't mind flying with you two" spoke Brom, but stopped when he saw the look that Durza shot him.

"Don't ever say that I or Rebi will do anything without first asking us. It will not do, and it can get you in a lot of trouble for saying something like that, but yes I and Rebi will fly with you tomorrow" spoke Durza as he laid down beside Rebi. Brom looked relieved, but Eragon looked confused.

'Why was he so angry' asked Eragon to Saphira. She snaked her head until her giant eye was looking directly at him.

'He was mad that Brom said he would do something that he did not agree to do. He did not even ask Durza if he wanted to fly with us yet Brom said that he would. It is dangerous to make promises that you cannot keep, especially with and about people that can easily kill you' spoke Saphira as she laid down.

Eragon nodded his head, and after dinner started practicing sword training with Brom. The fight was intense as always and eventually Eragon delivered such an intense blow that it snapped the sticks that they were using in two like twigs.

"Throw your stick into the fire. This is as far as we can go with branches. We will now be using swords" spoke Brom as he drew the sword Durza had gotten from the master smith back in Urû'baen. Durza decided to let Brom have his old sword since he basically stole Brom's.

"Are you mad? We will cut each other to ribbons" shouted Eragon.

Durza just rolled his eyes. The kid had honestly never heard of subtlety before, and he had probably forgotten about magic, granted the boy probably had no idea what magic could really do.

"Ah but we have magic. With the right spells we can make sure the blade does not harm us" spoke Brom as he placed two of his fingers on the blade. He had a look of deep concentration, and then he spoke a few words in the ancient language. When he spoke the words a red spark raced out across the edge of his sword. He took an experimental swing at his arm, and Eragon was surprised that he was unharmed. Durza knew what would happen, so he went back to focusing on his own sword. The jewel at the bottom of his sword could hold magic. He had been storing mass amounts of magic since he got the sword. He would usually store about half of his daily magic inside the sword so that he would have plenty of magic to defend himself with even without the sword, and the magic in his sword would build up. Being a very powerful shade, and then being changed into a new brand of shade when he became a rider Durza had magic in spades, so the amount of magic he had been able to save up was quite a lot.

Durza watched as Eragon and Brom fought. Durza could tell Brom was a master swordsman, but still nowhere near his own skill level. While in the king's service Durza practiced wielding a sword every day for hundreds of years against the best swordsmen the empire had to offer, and he would almost always fight five on one at the minimum so he swordsman ship did not need a whole bunch of work. He did miss all of the dark magic those damn spirits took with them when they left. Hundreds of years learning dark magic down the drain when those little monsters ran with their tails between their legs. He did learn other branches of magic when he was serving under the king, but it still bothered him that he lost something that he put so much work into. Well at least now when he relearned it he would have Rebi with him which was always a plus.

The next day Eragon was being helped onto Saphira as Durza sat atop of Rebi and watched. He could see that Eragon was beyond scared, so he decided to show him it was actually quit enjoyable to fly. Rebi flexed her powerful leg muscles and blasted them into the air. She snapped open her transparent red wings and started gaining altitude. When Durza looked down he saw Saphira do the same as Rebi, and they quickly gained on them.

'Looks like Saphira is quiet the little speed queen. She might even be faster than you' joked Durza. Rebi did not take too kindly to that, and quickly nosedived down past Saphira. When she was below Saphira, she quickly circled back and started to chase her. It took a while but eventually she passed her up, and flew into the clouds overhead.

'I am the fastest dragon in these skys' spoke Rebi, as she flew through the wet clouds to cool off.

'Hahaha I will never doubt it again' spoke Durza, as he used magic to keep his clothes dry.

Eventually they all got done flying and landed beside Brom and the two spooked horses. Eragon almost fell of Saphira when he got off, but Durza got off with a quick jump and landed perfectly on his feet.

"So how was your first flight" asked Durza, as he helped Eragon stand back up.

"Wow, just wow. It was amazing. I never thought flying could be this much fun" shouted Eragon. Durza just smiled at him and walked back over towards Rebi.

'Do you want me to clean you' asked Durza, as he pulled out a rabbits pelt. He used it to clean here scales, and with a little magic he could clean the pelt. He liked cleaning her by hand as it let them spend more time together. After he got done cleaning her he would use magic to clean what he missed, and his rabbit skin pelt. It was their little thing that always made them feel closer.

'Yes, thank you little one' spoke Rebi as she stretched out like a cat. It always amazed Durza how much different she was the Shruken and it also made him feel bad for Shruken and the life he has been forced to live. It made him want to save Shruken and also help him find himself again.

Durza got to cleaning Rebi with the rabbit pelt. He always started from her head, then worked his way down her back, then down her legs, and finally he would clean her tail. Everything else was for her and his magic to clean. Eragon did something similar, but did not use magic to get what he missed, and Durza figured it was because he did not know how.

'Ok all done' spoke Durza as he put the pelt away.

'Thank you little one' spoke Rebi as she stood up and flexed her body.

'You're welcome. I got to keep my girl looking her best after all' spoke Durza. He smiled when Rebi gave him that look that told him how much she cared for him. It was nice to know that you were loved after hundreds of years of being hated, feared, enslaved, and alone.

After cleaning their dragons both Eragon and Durza got back on them and flew into the air. The continued flying for hours and only when Eragon felt an annoying buzz in his mind did they stop and fly side by side. Durza knew instantly that something was wrong with him but was not sure what.

That was when Durza heard Eragon say 'Brom' which led Durza to believe Eragon had tried to defend his mind from Brom, but the man was still able to break through his pathetic defenses even all the way out here.

'Just proves what I said was right about almost anybody could break through his mental defenses and take him over. I mean even if Brom was powerful at one point it seems like his ship has sailed. I don't know how he lost his power, but I do know that his power is growing weaker all the time. It is so small that it is almost unnoticeable, but to someone like me it is clear as day. The only thing I can think of that would do this to Brom was if whatever he used to give him magical capabilities was taken away from him. Either he is a sorcerer and lost whatever gave him his magic, or something else happened to him for him to slowly get weaker' thought Durza. He could feel Rebi agree with him as he always gave her free access to what he was thinking, but kept his past to himself. It would not do her good to see hundreds of years of memories in an instant. He did not know if her mind could take such a thing, so he would have to talk to someone like the elves who lived when the riders were still in power, like him-self, but had a much closer relationship with them then he did for obvious purposes.

"Brom wants us to go down to where he is. He said he found something" spoke Eragon, as he and Saphira started to hurtle down towards were Brom was.

'I wonder why he did not contact me instead of Eragon. Surely he would have known that I would not have rejected him like Eragon did' spoke Durza.

'Maybe he wants Eragon to practice using his mind to communicate and such so that he does not need to learn such skills on the fly. Maybe this is his way of teaching Eragon what you were saying, but not actually admitting to being wrong' spoke Rebi as she tailed behind Saphira.

'Idiotic old goat' grumbled Durza, as Rebi just rumbled, which Durza assumed meant she was laughing.

When they landed they saw Brom putting Eragon through the ringer for blocking him out. Saphira looked amused as did Rebi, but Durza's attention was on the giant claw markings on the ground. He instantly knew what they were.

"I was following the Ra'zac when their trail suddenly went cold. I backtracked until I came upon these. What do you make of them" asked Brom, as he looked at Eragon. Eragon looked at the markings for a while until it finally hit him.

"These look like the markings that Saphira and Rebi leave when they take off to go flying. What does that mean" asked Eragon, but he didn't see the way Durza rolled his eyes.

"It was the Lethrblaka. Be thankful that you did not catch up to them when the Lethrblaka were near as you and your dragon would have become their next meal. Your dragon would be the Lethrblaka's meal, and you would be the Ra'zac's meal" spoke Durza as he examined the impressions on the ground. Eragon looked horrified, Saphira looked insulted, but Brom looked like he was calculating his next move. Durza could only imagine what would have become of Eragon if neither he nor Brom were here to guide and protect him.

"So what we just lose the Ra'zac all together just because their stupid parents showed up and picked them up? There must be a way to catch up with them" spoke Eragon as he looked at both Durza and Brom.

"There is always a way to do anything, but I just don't know how you are going to find them. The kind was very secretive of them. I know a lot about them physically, how they fight, and a few other things, but how they act in groups, where they live, things like that I just don't know. I do know that the king has many of their eggs hidden around Alegasia just in case his little assassins die. Even if you were able to kill the ones that you are after you will not exterminate their race" spoke Durza, as he informed Eragon and Brom, plus the dragons, on what he thought of the situation.

"Well what now? We can't just forget about the Ra'zac, they killed Garro" shouted Eragon, as he stalked over to the woods. Durza was in deep thought and heard a metallic sound. He discarded the sound as unhelpful, but then he smelt and extremely familiar smell and looked over at Eragon. The idiotic boy was about to pour something onto his finger that Durza knew would not end well for him. Quickly, faster than anyone could see, Durza was upon Eragon and snatched the flask out of his grasp and put the top back on it.

"Idiotic boy, do you have any idea what this is? Of course you don't this is far too rare and deadly for someone like you to come in contact with. At least you had the good sense not to try and drink it" spoke Durza as he chided Eragon on his stupid actions. Eragon for his part looked confused, and that look made Durza just want to pimp slap a stupid hoe.

"What is so special about that liquid anyways that your action all crazy" asked Eragon, as he crossed his arms.

"It is oil from the petals of the seather plants, which grows on a small island on the northern frigid seas. In its natural state the oil used for preserving pearls, but with blood rituals and the proper words of power it gains the power to eat any flesh. That wouldn't make it very valuable since there are many acids that can do as such, but what makes this oil so valuable is that it leaves everything it touches perfectly fine, so long as it was never made out of a living animal, and eats away at anything with flesh. It is very useful for things like torcher and assassination. There are a million uses for it, and a million ways to use it, and it is only limited by your own imagination. The best part about it is that it takes a long time to heal, so if you were to fatally injure someone and the weapon you used had this slathered on it you would know that they would not survive even if they did manage to escape. The only problem with it is that it is rare and very expensive. I am just glad I got my own for free now" spoke Durza as he placed the flask in a wooden container that it fit perfectly into that Durza made from one of the trees nearby and his magic. After he was sure the oil was safely contained he stored the box inside a bag that Rebi as carrying for him.

Eragon gave him a look that said 'are you serious', but Durza just shrugged it off. He knew how important something like that was, and knew that it would be great to use if he wanted to assassinate someone. I mean all you had to do was slip a couple of drops inside someone's drink and wait for them to drink it. After that all you had to do was fake like you had no idea, and pretend to be shocked, and your home free. Of course for someone like Durza who had a million ways to kill someone it was kind of redundant, but whatever.

"Why would they leave behind something so valuable? I doubt the king will be happy about that" spoke Eragon, as he looked at the bag that held Durza's new weapon.

"It must have fallen off when they took off" spoke Durza, as he walked towards Rebi.

"Yes but why wouldn't they come back for it? Won't the king punish them for that" asked Eragon.

"It is possible that they will get punished, but they would get punished far more severely if they delayed bringing him news of my betrayal of him, me and you becoming riders, and all the information they have gathered on us" spoke Durza.

"This oil, how rare is it" asked Eragon with a look that said 'I may have an idea'.

"Like diamonds in a pig troph" spoke Brom. Durza thought it was a terrible way to explain the oils worth, but then Brom fixed himself, although not in the way Durza would have preferred him to. "Well the actual oil is quite expensive and well used for those that could afford it" spoke Brom.

"So there are people who trade in it" asked Eragon, and already Durza could see where he was going with this, and he had to give it to Eragon for coming up with such a good idea.

"Maybe one or two but not much more than that" spoke Brom.

"Good. Now do the cities around the coast keep shipping records" asked Eragon. That was when Brom seemed to understand were Eragon was going with this.

"Of course they do. If we can find out who bought the oil then we can find out where it was sent to" spoke Brom, and Eragon continued were he left off.

"And then we can find out where the Ra'zac live" spoke Eragon.

"Genius, I wish I had come up with this years ago. It would have saved me many headaches" spoke Brom as he told Eragon how great his idea was.

"I guess we should go to Teirm. It would be a great place to start looking and I last heard that an old friend of mine lives there by the name of Jode, plus he is a merchant so it is possible that he has access to those records" spoke Brom.

"Then lets hurry up and go" shouted Eragon as he mounted Saphira.

'That boy has way to much energy' thought Durza, as he mounted Rebi, and they flew through the night sky.

The next morning they set of towards Teirm.

On their way to Tierm was interesting to say the least. When Brom was teaching Eragon words of the ancient language, Durza would be practicing his reflexes trying to keep them as sharp as possible. When Brom was teaching Eragon how to fight with a sword, Durza would get in and fight both of them at the same time. He never used his advanced strength or speed, but even without it he was too much or both Eragon and Brom. All of his years of practice and experience made them look like children fighting an adult. The one thing that Durza did learn from Brom was how to take care of his dragon. He never realized how much work went into making sure dragons were well cared for. He was thankful for the knowledge and paid rapt attention when Brom would explain what was ok for dragons to eat and what would make them sick, as well as how to cure them when they did get sick.

The roads changed like the seasons as the raced across Alegasia. At first it was dry and had rocks all over the place, then it got more mild and the land flattened out with grass growing everywhere, and finally the ground became damp and their feet sank into the road. The air became muggy and a thing fog blanketed the area. It was odd for Eragon, but Durza had been in Tierm before when he was sent to punish some noble for causing problems and thinking he was more important than he was.

When they finally got to Tierm Eragon was amazed. The city was protected by a white wall a hundred feet high, and thirty feet thick. Inside the wall were rectangular slits for archers and a walkway on top for soldiers. The citadel and castle were the only things that could be seen behind the giant white wall.

Eragon and Durza told Saphira and Rebi to hide while they went in. Durza could tell that Saphira was giving Eragon a hard time, but Rebi was much easier about letting him go. It was probably because of how powerful he already was, but then again it could be because of how much experience he already had.

When they got to the gate the guards crossed pikes and stopped them. (The people who laughed at that sentence have my kind of humor)

"What's your name" asked one of the guards in a bored voice.

"They call me Neil" spoke Brom as he tried to mimic the Hunch Back of Notre Dam.

"And who is the other two" asked the guard in the same bored manner.

"I was getting to that. This would be Evan, and he would be Dale" spoke Brom.

"What's your purpose hear" asked the guard.

"He's visiting and old friend. We are just here to make sure he doesn't get lost. He has a touch of the brain fever" spoke Eragon, as he whispered the last part. The guard just nodded his head and warned them about what will happen if the old man starts to act up.

When they were inside of the city Brom stopped is terrible act, and gave Eragon a fake look of anger.

"Touch of the brain fever aye" asked Brom.

"What I can't have you having all of the fun" spoke Eragon.

They all continued down through the city until they came upon a bar called the green chestnut. It was a dark and homely place. Eragon looked nervous, and Durza was happy he had rapped Zar'roc in a cloth before coming in here. He knew these people would have tried to rob him and then would have tried to pry the egg sized ruby from the bottom of the blade. The bartender was a pain in the ass when it came to information, and was not above insulting his clients though they looked ready to kill the man. Brom slid the man some coins and asked if he could be enticed to remember. The man tried to haggle for more, but Durza was tired of the looks he was receiving and just invaded the man's mind. The man didn't even know anything was happening, but all of a sudden he had an urge to go into the back room for a bit. Durza informed Brom on what he found, and ignored the man's rant about how it was wrong to just invade someone's mind for things he wanted. Durza just ignored him and continued to walk towards Jode's house. When they found the herbalist's house they saw a curly haired woman with a frog in one of her hands and a pen in the other while she wrote on a piece of paper. Brom started to ask her were his friend Jode lives.

"Miss, do you know where Jode lives" asked Brom in his weird voice.

"Yes I know were Jode live" spoke the woman as she continued to write.

"Would you tell us where he lives" asked Brom.

The woman continued to write, but she never spoke. Eragon and Brom looked like they were having a hard time deciding what to do, but Durza with his sharp eyes could see the microscopic look of curiosity in the woman's face. He instantly knew that she was playing with them, and it kind of pissed Durza off.

When she finally did start to talk it was more about how they never asked her to tell them where Jode lived, but whether or not she knew where he lived and if she would tell them where he lived is they had asked, but by that time Durza was annoyed with the woman and snapped on her.

"You knew that the question was implied, but not asked for if you were to ask someone to tell you were someone else was it would then be a demand and not a question therefore you are just giving us the run around to satisfy some strange since of pleasure you get out of messing with people's heads. If you want someone to demand things of you then I will do it since it is what you want apparently. Tell me where Jode lives now" demanded Durza, as he smiled at the shocked expression on the woman's face. She was so shocked that she only pointed at Jode's house with her mouth hanging open slightly. Durza nodded and began walking towards the house.

When they got to the house Brom knocked on the door three times. Nobody came so he knocked again. Eragon started to complain, but Durza could sense that there were people inside, and one was on their way. When the door opened a woman who looked like she had been crying opened the door but her voice was perfectly even. She was very rude, and Durza wanted to punish her for speaking even in his direction like that. Back in the empire he was feared and respected and ladies in waiting only bowed and asked to fetch things for him. They certainly never smarted off to him, because they knew better. Even the Galbatorix's concubines knew better than to even look at him wrong as he was known for killing anyone who even looked at him wrong save the king although he wished he could have killed that mad man. After a while a man burst out of the door and hugged Brom before starting up a conversation

"Brom" asked the man in a quiet but incredulous voice.

"Don't use that name" spoke Brom with a quick hushing voice. "Do you have anywhere we can talk without being overheard" asked Brom.

Jode nodded and went back into the house. A few minutes later he came out with a wealthy man's overcoat and an embroiled rapier at his hip. Durza figured it could use a little less glam as it did not seem very practical.

The walked to the castle and Jode explained that the governor decreed that they had to rent rooms their even if they didn't conduct their business inside the castle. It was stupid, but they did it to keep the man happy. When they got to the sanctuary Jode showed Eragon a place where he could keep the horses tied up while they talked.

When they got into Jode's office they started talking about the past, and about how they got split up. Durza knew instantly what they were talking about as he was the one who had to hear the king bitch about his precious dragon eggs being stolen from right under his nose. So Brom was the one who stole it and with the help of this man it seemed. He would have to keep a keener eye on Brom, because the mystery on where he got Zar'roc was starting to become clearer by the second. Eventually they got to the part where they discovered how they would track the Ra'zac and what they needed from Jode to do that.

"You do realize doing something like that could take months don't you? The problem is the records are kept in the castle and only the chief administrator sees them on a regular basis because the governor thinks we will falsify our reports thus cheating the empire out of its precious taxes" spoke Jode.

Brom nodded his head, and told Jode that he would deal with that when the time came, but that they needed a few days rest before they could start planning on what to do about getting the reports.

"Well old friend it looks like it is my turn to help you. My home is your home until you get what you need" spoke Jode.

After that Durza and Eragon were sent out so that Brom and Jode could speak in private, but the said it in a way that would not draw suspicion, though everyone knew what they were doing. When they were out of the office Eragon raved about how unfair it was that they had been sent out while they talked in secret but eventually shut up when he remembered a spell that would increase his hearing. Durza didn't need the spell and could already hear them clear as day. Eventually Brom and Jode came out and Eragon and Durza started to follow them.

As they walked a strange conversation about how Jode's selfish wife came up, and Durza like the woman even less. She was obviously one of that rich, silver spoon fed pones that came from the rich families that did not actually work for their wealth and was taking her frustrations out on her husband who was doing his best to make everything perfect for her. It was not his fault that the empire was trying to sabotage him, but it was obvious she didn't care about such things and only wanted results.

After that they went to a tavern for dinner as Jode did not want to eat at home for some reason. They didn't mind and Jode looked very relieved for some reason. When they got to the tavern there were served roast pick, apples, and a large mix of delicious vegetables. Eragon ate like a man on death row, Jode and Brom eat like two men who were celebrating thing, but only Durza was the only one who retained his table manners and ate like you were expected to at the dinner table. Eventually they were all stuffed and on their way to Jode's house. Durza and Eragon decided to go see Saphira and Rebi so they bid the two older men ado. Jode warned them that they closed the city gates at sun down but the boys just nodded before running off towards their dragons.

They had to climb a cliff to get to the dragons but Eragon got stuck and could not go up or down so Saphira had to go rescue him. When she got back up she and Eragon saw Rebi and Durza conversing about today's events and what Durza had discovered. Durza used his mental link with Rebi to send her images and clips of him memories and ideas that he had come up with when it came to Brom. Rebi was surprised, but thankful for what the man did for her and Saphira. After riding around for a bit they rushed back into the city only making it back with only seconds left before the city gates closed completely. When they got back to Jode's house they found him and Brom who was in a jolly mood for some reason in Jode's study. After a quick conversation Eragon admitted he could not read shocking everyone in the room. Brom declared that he would teach Eragon how to read although Durza could tell that Eragon did not look very excited. After a while Eragon started fiddling with a book. When Durza heard about it he was instantly interested. He was already going to make use of Jode's impressive collection, his unneed of sleep, and his Eideic memory (Photographic memory) to read as much as he possible could before they left. When Eragon fell asleep in his chair Durza took the book and started reading, ignoring Brom's conversation completely. The book was very large, but Durza only needed to glance at a page to learn everything on its pages. It made reading quick and easy so he was able to quickly move through the books chapters. He was aware though of the two men starting at him as he read. He was sure they were amazed at the speeds he was reading and were probably thinking he would be done reading all of Jode's book collection before he left the city which was Durza's intention.

Eragon was woken up when everyone was going to bed. Durza said that he would be staying in the study to read Jode's books if that were ok with him. The man just smiled and said that he was happy to help a fellow scholar out and left him to his reading. Eragon went and spoke with Brom before he went to bed. They had a long talk about scrying, Eragon's cousin, and other things. Eventually everyone was in bed sleeping except Durza who had not looked up from the book he was currently reading.

The next morning when everyone was waking up Eragon came and got Durza. Durza had not slept a wink that night, but didn't feel tired at all. He had finished the book Eragon had been examining and so far it had been his favorite by far. He had read several books beside the one, but honestly could not say that he did not like any of them. It was sort of a weakness of Durza's to want to learn more, but at the same time a gift. Durza absently noticed the bow on Eragon's back, so he grabbed Zar'roc and slung it over his shoulder as well. He made sure all of the bandages were on it so no one would try and mug him, or recognize the sword and report him.

He and Eragon walked through Tierm for hours going into various shops that caught their fancy and talking to people about various things. Eragon noticed that Durza had a way with people regardless of who they were. He stopped a nobleman, which would have normally gotten him hit with a cane, but was able to convince him to actually give them directions and was even kind enough to give them a ride in his carriage. He also saw Durza talking to some street rats that looked like the type to mug you as quick as talk to you and was even able to get a few crowns off of them for a joke he told them. Eragon did not get the joke, but he did see how the street rats reacted and could only assume it was very funny if you knew what the joke meant. Eventually they were forced to head back to Jode's.

As they passed the herbalists shop Eragon got curious and went inside. Durza was still annoyed at the woman for wasting his time the other day, but could tell she was more than she let on so he went inside as well. Inside was very dark and the place looked distorted. The shelves came in every size and a bird that didn't belong to the area was giving them a strange look. Then when Eragon least expected it a large cat leaped onto the counter. It looked different from other cats and instantly Durza knew what it was.

"A werecat now that is something you don't see every day" spoke Durza as he examined the cat. Eragon went to say something but then a voice inside of his head told him that he did not have to try and talk to him with his mind. Eragon looked alarmed but for some reason could not seem to understand the cat was the one talking to him. Durza just shook his head as he watched the train wreck unfold. He saw Eragon pick up a rod and get electrocuted. It was funny but when the cat got in Eragon's face and told him he was not very smart for a dragon rider he almost lost it. It was almost too much when Eragon insulted the cat and it pounced on him. It was very ridiculous to see a boy almost a man being bullied by a cat and even more so when he saw the cat out smart him with logic alone. Durza was absentmindedly interested in the device that shocked Eragon though, but put it in the back of his mind.

Eventually Angela came in and looked at them before she looked at Solombum. She then looked startled, and Durza could only figure they were talking with their minds.

"He said he talked to you" spoke Angela in a shocked voice.

"You can talk to him to" spoke Eragon.

"Yes, but that does not mean he will talk back" spoke Angela using her smart comments that greatly annoyed Durza so he decided to call her out on her smart alic comment.

"You know talking to things that don't talk back is a good sign of madness" spoke Durza as he gave a condescending grin at the befuddled Angela. She looked mad that her little word/mind game was turned on her so easily, but when she went to say something Durza ignored her completely and started paying rapt attention to a plant he all of a sudden found interesting. Instantly Angela was angry once more.

"Well why did you come in my store. You don't seem the type to by herbs" spoke Angela, although she was still looking at Solombum.

"I don't know you seemed interesting, if not petty as well. Maybe I thought you were a witch or maybe I all of a sudden gained an inexplicable desire to learn all there is about plants so I can use them to become the best herbalist in Tierm and put you out of business" spoke Durza. He didn't know why, but he enjoyed angering this woman. She certainly deserved it with the way she treated them when they first met, and she didn't do herself any favors the second time they met.

They fought for a bit, then that turned into a word battle, which finally turned into whether or not they wanted their fortunes told. Eragon was skeptical, but Durza was interested.

"Ok you're going first Eragon" spoke Angela as she tossed some old bones that had runes and symbols inscribes along their sides. When she did this she spoke a few words in the ancient language that Durza recognized. After that she spent some time reading the bones before telling them she was only able to get a few things from them.

"Here is the symbol for infinity. I don't know if you will live forever of just an abnormally long life. The symbol of the wandering path is one I have only heard of, but never seen. It means that there are many choices laid out before you, some of which face you even now. Now the lightning bolt is an ill omen that means someone you care deeply for will die soon and it will cause you great heart ache. The final symbol is that of choice. You will be faced with a great choice one day that will lead you down two paths. One is the right path that will lead many to happiness while the other is the left path that will heal an aching heart but whether or not it will benefit those in his or her care is unknown" spoke Angela. After that Eragon looked scared, but Durza sat down in front of Angela and gave her a small smile, one that she returned. She then cast the bones again and looked deeply at them.

"Your future is equally difficult to read. Like Eragon here you will have infinite life, or maybe just an abnormally long life. You also have the path of the wander which will lead you down many roads all of which are by your own design and choosing. Unlike Eragon you do not have a bad omen over your head, quit the contrary it is the opposite. You will find much love in your life and even more that one at a time. This could mean that you will cheat on one love with another or you will be shared by your loves. Finally you have the symbol of the conqueror. It could mean that you will conquer some lands for your own, or for another. The choice is yours and yours alone" spoke Angela. After that both Eragon and Durza left her shop and entered Jode's house with much on their minds, same as Angela and Solombum.


	3. Chapter 3

(Durza The Shade Rider Chapter 3)

That night after their strange experience with Angela the herbalist, Eragon and Durza could be seen sitting at a fine table with food fit for nobility in front of them, but with tension in the air so thick you could cut it with a knife. Jode sat at one end of the table, while his wife sat and scowled at the other end. She was making it very uncomfortable for everyone, but Durza just shrugged off her petty stares and continued to eat with grace that he had become second nature because of hundreds of years eating and associating with nobles. Durza did not know what the woman's problem was, but he would not let it ruin his dinner.

For the next week Brom taught Eragon how to be literate. It was odd for Eragon to be in the same room as Durza who was blowing through books at speeds Eragon could not even fathom while he himself struggled to just to read a page without Brom's help. It took a week, but eventually Eragon was able to read whole chapters without any help and he soon found he enjoyed reading. After a week of practice Brom told them that he was ready to move on to stage two of his plans.

Eragon and Durza were with their dragons outside of Tierm explaining Brom's plans, and then after that they talked about small things just to pass the time. Durza got into a habit of reading Rebi the books that he had read by passing the memories through their mental link. She found reading to be interesting, and entertaining. She loved romance books as they were something new to her, so Durza made sure to read at least one romance book every day just to make sure he would never run out of material to read to Rebi. Eragon found confiding in Saphira to be helpful. Apparently he found out that he was not all powerful like Brom had tried to make him believe and started to turn to Saphira when he was unsure of himself. He quickly learned that he had much to learn, and Durza was thankful that he was maturing faster now.

The next night Durza heard Eragon tossing and turning in his sleep. He quickly entered Eragon's bedroom and used his mind to see what the boy was dreaming about. When he saw it was of that elf woman he had captured, he was surprised. He thought maybe Eragon had scryed her somehow, but knew he had never been to 'that' particular dungeon and he was sure he had never even seen an elf. Durza smelled someone tampering in things, but couldn't find out where it was coming from and just as fast as it arrived it was gone even faster. Durza shrugged his shoulders and went back to reading in Jode's study. He was almost done reading all of his books, and he didn't have much more time before they left Tierm.

The next morning everyone woke up, except Durza, and got dressed. To Durza Eragon looked like a boy in waiting but with a bow and quiver on his back, Brom looked like a street rat with a cane and a his old sword, and Jode looked like he was overly dressed especially with that useless ornament he called a jewel incrusted rapier. Durza wore black horse riding pants, with black boots, a silver belt and buckle, a dark grey shirt with a black overcoat over his shirt. At his hip was Zar'roc which was well hidden tanks to the black overcoat.

They left Jode's estate and walked through the streets. Durza could tell Eragon was very tense, Brom and Jode seemed to be fairing fairly well. When they passed Angela's shop Eragon and Durza caught sight of a flash of movement, but neither of them saw anything. There was an odd tingle in their hands, but when they looked at the roof again it was still empty so they ignored it and continued their walk down the busy roads.

They walked for hours and only stopped when the sky had turned black. By this time they were walking the outer wall of the city when they came upon a metal door. Jode walked up to it trying to look confident and knocked on the door hard. After a bit a small metal slit opened up and Durza could instantly smell rum on the man's breath

"Yea what is it" asked the man impatiently. It was obvious he was eager to get back to his bottle of rum.

"The boy left something important inside my office and it is imperative that we get it back" spoke Jode as Eragon bowed his head in fake shame. There was no way they would have gotten Durza to do something like that, which is probably why Jode motioned at Eragon and not at him.

"Ah alright just make sure you beat him a good one for me" spoke the guard as he opened the door.

"I will be sure to do that" spoke Jode as he slid the man some coins. The man thanked Jode for the coins and waddled off. He kind of reminded Durza of those creatures in the frozen isles, but disregarded the thought when everyone grabbed their weapons. Jode pulled out his rapier, Brom held his cane closely; Eragon pulled back his bow, so Durza put his hand on the pummel of his sword. As they walked they heard faint noises, but did not see anyone. When they got to the door the found it was locked, but Brom grabbed it and muttered a few words in the ancient language and the lock unlocked. Brom grabbed a torch and quickly ushered them into the room. The room was full of scrolls and Jode quickly looked through them until he called out "Over hear" and all of them followed him.

"These are the shipping records from the past five years. Look for anything that says Seather Oil. If you find anything write it down on this piece of parchment so that we can keep track of everything" spoke Jode as he started to read the top scroll. Brom grabbed a few scrolls from the top, and Eragon grabbed a couple as well. Durza positioned himself right beside the scrolls and the table so that he would be able to get to the scrolls as fast as possible, read them, and then places them in a stack on the table. It was boring work and Durza could honestly say that he would like to forget all this useless information as soon as possible, but he didn't complain as that would be counterproductive.

Durza sensed something behind him, and apparently Eragon did to. When he looked behind him he saw a hairy boy with glowing eyes. Instantly Durza knew it was Solombum as he knew of the werecat's ability to turn into semi human like creatures although they were still distorted.

"Solombum is that you" asked Eragon as he continued to read from his scroll.

"You don't think I am someone else do you" spoke Solombum although it sounded more like he was joking than anything else.

"Well you look different" spoke Eragon, and Durza knew that it was far from the most intellectual thing he had ever said before.

"Just because I look different doesn't mean I am different. You don't think they call me a werecat for nothing" spoke Solombum in that same joking voice he was using earlier.

"No wonder Angela keeps you around. You and her personalities and love of messing with people's minds are very similar. You must get a kick out of knowing something someone else doesn't" spoke Durza as he continued to read his scroll. Solombum shot him a dirty look, but looked away when those killer red eyes looked directly into his with a hint of warning in them.

"Why are you here" asked Eragon trying to lighten the atmosphere that Durza had created with his short temper.

"Well if you are here to read those scroll for entertainment then me coming here was quite for not, but if you are doing something unlawful then I would be here to warn you that the guard you paid off just told his replacement about you and this second officer of the empire has sent troops after you" spoke Solombum.

"Thank you" spoke Eragon, but Durza just rolled his eyes.

"It was you who was spying on us all day. I knew you were there, but I didn't know why you were following us. I hope you're not spying on us for Angela as that will not end well for either of you" spoke Durza with venom in his voice.

Solombum just cleaned the back of his hand for a second before answering. "I don't do what she asks. She feeds me and is always in the middle of something interesting so I stick around. When I meet you I found you to be interesting so I followed you. You senses are amazing as I have never been tracked before, it was interesting to have to try so hard to hide from you" spoke Solombum before leaving.

"One day he will learn curiosity killed the cat if he continues to stick his nose in my business" spoke Durza as he stood up and followed Eragon back over to Brom and Jode.

"The guards are on their way" spoke Eragon in a hushed whisper.

"How do you know this" asked Brom as he gave Eragon and Durza a hard look.

"I listened in on the guard. There on their way, and I'll bet they have already found out that Jode's office is empty" spoke Eragon as he looked at the door wearily.

"Are you sure" asked Jode with a worried look.

"Yes I can hear them getting closer" spoke Durza in his usual bored tone.

"No matter we are done here anyways" spoke Brom as he put all of the scrolls back onto the shelves and used a spell to dry the ink on the parchment. Jode quickly stuffed the parchment into his pocket and they quickly left the room. As soon as the closed the door they heard the heavy footsteps of soldier.

"Damn it's not lock" spoke Brom, but before he could utter the spell to lock it, it lock on its own. Brom looked at Durza who gave him a quick nod. Brom nodded back to Durza and turned to look at the guards that just came around the corner.

"Hey get away from that door" shouted one of the guards. When the guards were upon them the tallest one asked "what were you doing trying to get into the record room".

"We lost our way and were not sure where we are" spoke Jode; strain obvious in his voice if the bead of sweat on his face wasn't obvious enough.

The guards didn't believe them and everyone tensed up except for Durza who still looked bored. He could honestly saw that he could easily kill these three guards even before they knew they were dying. The guard tried to get into the room but found it was lock. It was enough to convince the captain that they had not been in their so he escorted them out of the building and told them not to come back until morning.

As they walked Brom had to chastise Eragon for his happy outburst, and told him that he would have to wait until they got to the house to celebrate, but until then walk normally. Eragon quickly adopted a neutral look, but Durza and Brom could still see the energy and excitement in his eyes.

When the got to the manor Eragon started shouting about how they did it, and all this other mess, but then Brom had to be the party pooper and say that now they would have to find out if it was worth it. They pulled out a map and looked it over fairly quickly. Brom told a little bit of history about a few of the noteworthy places, and also examined some of the not so noteworthy places.

"From what I can see there have been shipments of Seather Oil have been shipped to all of the major cities so it will be difficult tracking them down" spoke Jode.

"Yes, but there are a few cities that we can eliminate as the king keeps them very busy" spoke Durza as he pointed out some of the cities that they would obviously not stay.

"It would also have to be a cross road, and somewhere large form them to hide out" spoke Brom as he paced up and down excitedly.

"It would also have to be a dark place to live. It would have to be somewhere that people regularly kill one another" spoke Durza remembering the Ra'zac's love of flesh.

"That would surely narrow down the list to Tierm, Calinad, and Gilead. I know they are not in Tierm, and Calinad is too far north, so only Gilead remains" spoke Jode.

"That is a possibility, but then again the Seather Oil was sent to Couasta, Dras-Leona, Arose, and Belatona" spoke Brom.

"Yes, but Cousasta would not word as it is on the coast and surrounded by mountains. Arose is far to isolated to work for the Ra'zac, so that just leaves Dras-Leona and Belatona. If I had to guess I would say it is Dras-Leona as it is where all of the empires goods pass through and it is larger than Belatona" spoke Durza as he eyed the map with keen eyes. Brom could tell he was thinking about something, but didn't voice his thoughts as he didn't know what would happen if he did.

"How do we know that the Ra'zac are in Dras-Leona" asked Brom. Jode ran his finger through the parchment and told Brom about how Dras-Leona has had a steady supply of Seather Oil while Belatona has only had one shipment in the past three years. They continued to discuss their plans until Durza cut across their conversation.

"You guys are forgetting something very important" spoke Durza as he eyed the map with fire in his eyes.

"Oh, and what is that" asked Jode.

"Helgrind" spoke Durza. Instantly Durza and Jode began talking about the 'Black Gates' and the dark citadel.

"Yes it is a very dark place indeed" spoke Brom.

"Perfect for the Ra'zac" spoke Durza.

"Then it is settled then. We will go to Dras-Leona then" spoke Brom. After that they all talked for a minute before heading off to bed. Durza stayed in the study as there were two more books he had yet to read, and he wanted to finish them before he went to bed.

The next day they left Jode's home, but not before Durza gave Jode's wife a heart to heart. She wanted to attack him, but in his eyes she could see herself dying for such insolence so she remained quite as Durza gave her a tongue lashing like she was a little girl again about how she was being petty and that she should be thankful for the things she has, like the fact she was still alive. That scared her, but Durza knew she would get what he meant eventually so he left it at that and he, Eragon, and Brom left Tierm.

Saphira and Rebi were so happy that they had finally left Tierm, and instantly Durza jumped on Rebi's back and flew on her high into the sky. Eventually Eragon and Saphira caught up with them and they flew in the sky and just had a good time. After a while they came down and ate lunch with Brom. After that they got back on their horses and raced off towards Dras-Leona. Along the way Eragon started poking and prodding at Brom's past. Durza wouldn't lie as he too was curious, but he wouldn't have just demanded it of Brom like Eragon had, as he preferred subtlety to oblivious. Brom gave him bits and pieces of stories that seemed to satisfy Eragon, but they started to fill in a much bigger picture for Durza who was listening in on their conversation.

"Wait a second you said there was no more dragons in Alegasia" spoke Brom. Durza wanted to slap the kid for being so stupid.

"He lied you idiot. There are three living dragons that we know of, and two more eggs. The reason the king wants our dragons and our loyalty threw choice is simple. Rebi and Saphira are the last two female eggs, which means that if they are killed the dragon race will end completely. Galbatorix wants to use them to bread a whole new breed of riders that are shaped in his own twisted image, but he can't do that if there are no more dragons. That is why the Ra'zac did not try to kill you, they have to capture you or the king will kill them in a truly horrifying way" spoke Durza as he ran beside the horses using his incredible speeds.

"But wait how did you get the eggs" asked Eragon. Durza already knew all of this, but he was interested in the part about bad blood between him and Morzan. Durza liked Morzan to a point when he was alive. The man knew how to get the job done, and didn't wine when he was told no, he simply took what he wanted anyways. Durza also remembered when Morzan tried to kill him, but even back then Durza was more powerful than the old rider and defeated him. He would have killed him, but the king stopped him and forced him to let Morzan and his dragon go. That is why Durza felt so attached to Zar'roc, because by right of conquest it was his. He was also happy that Brom was the one that killed Morzan. Even though Durza had liked Morzan for a while, after the assassination attempts, insults, and fights it eventually wore off to indifference. After that Brom told Eragon about his mother, and a few other things.

Eventually they came upon a clearing they all stopped and set up camp. Eragon walked into the forest leaving Durza, Saphira, Brom, and Rebi sitting around the future camp sight. After a while Saphira looked alarmed and was looking in the direction Eragon had wandered into. Durza briefly wondered why the boy could never go anywhere without getting into trouble or hurt. That was when Saphira started acting even stranger, but she didn't leave the camp, although she did wrap Brom in her wind, and strangely Rebi did the same to him. Eventually Eragon came running into the camp holding an arm against his chest with a hunting knife in his other hand.

"What is going on" asked Eragon as he looked at the two dragons

"I don't know they just did this to us all of a sudden" spoke Durza although he sounded more amused than anything.

'You can let me go now' spoke Durza as he looked Rebi in the eye.

'Just keeping you safe little one' spoke Rebi as she nuzzled him. Durza scratched her chin just the way she liked and looked back over at Eragon.

"What in the hell I going on" asked Brom angrily.

"I found Urgal tracks and their still fresh" spoke Eragon. Instantly Brom got serious.

"Settle the hoarse; tell the dragons to fly overhead. If Urgals show up then they will think twice before attacking us with you two here" spoke Brom as he looked over at the two dragons.

'They better' spoke Saphira as she took off.

'Be safe little one' spoke Rebi as she took off as well.

When they were about a mile away from the camp a hunting horn went off. Brom instantly had them take off again as he believed they were hunting them, although to Durza sheep hunting a wolf is not really hunting. Then two more hunting horns went off much closer. Brom called Saphira and she placed Eragon on her back.

"Wait what about you and Durza" asked Eragon as she tried to get situated on Saphira's back.

"Oh please I want them to find me. I haven't killed anything in far too long and a few mindless Urgals will be perfect for me to use Zar'roc on" spoke Durza with a grin on his face. Brom didn't look as pleased, but he knew Durza would never consent to letting anyone else ride Rebi but him so he spurred Snowfire on as Durza rode Eragon's hoarse. They pushed the hoarse to their limits and were able to out run the Urgals, but then Eragon did something stupid again so Durza jumped off his horse and ran towards him using his super speed. When he got there he saw an Urgal speaking to Eragon.

"Our master wishes to speak with you human" spoke one of the Urgals. That was odd to Durza as Urgals referred to their leaders as chieftains or war lords not master. Durza could only figure they were talking about another being that the king was using to control them.

They continued to speak until Eragon insulted the Urgals master causing them to attack him. Durza wanted to see how Eragon would do, but when he saw Eragon use the word 'Jierda' he knew the boy must have been dropped on his head as a child. He saw Eragon fall to the ground, so he got up and walked over to him. The boy was on the edge of not having enough energy to survive so Durza gave him some of his own. He knew Eragon would be alright now so he grabbed Zar'roc and started killing all of the Urgals he could find. Eventually Brom showed up cussing a storm and went off with Saphira hunting for the other Urgals Durza didn't feel like going after.

For the next two days Durza and Rebi watched over Eragon while he slept while Brom rode Saphira around trying to find the rogue Urgals. It was not hard to tell that the old man was not happy with him for not helping hunt down and kill the Urgals, but Durza just wanted to spend time with Rebi and not waste his time looking for foul odors in the air.

Eventually Eragon woke up and started asking a bunch of annoying questions that Durza just told him to ask Brom when he got back. When Brom did get back all he did what yell at Eragon, and then started to drill him on what if scenarios that he mostly got wrong. By the end of the day everyone was miserable but Eragon could tell Brom was more disappointed that anything.

For the next month Eragon, Brom, and Durza trained every day. Brom trained Eragon in magic, swordsmanship, and was still giving him what if scenarios to increase his brain function, something Durza agreed with greatly. Durza practiced controlling his own magic by placing a stone in his hand and spinning it in midair with his magic. He would then draw designs and markings all over the stone with magic alone. It was a very difficult magical exercise, but Durza was finding it boring after the first few days of doing it.

After weeks of travel they were finally at the city of Dras-Leona. They quickly set up camp under a tree at the edge of Leona Lake and fell asleep. The next day Eragon and Durza ran over to the edge of the lake and called their respective dragons. Eragon and Saphira swam on top of the lake for a little while beside Durza and Rebi, but eventually Durza got bored of that.

"Hey Rebi let's see how deep this lake really is" spoke Durza as he grinned at Rebi. Rebi smiled showing off her razor sharp teeth and nodded her head. Durza took in a deep breath right before Rebi dived down into the deep depths of Leona Lake. It was so clear they both could see a league down. Rebi continued to swim deeper and deeper. Eventually Durza started to get bored with everything looking the same until the came upon the bottom of the lake. When they got there they swam around on the bottom for a bit until Durza spotted something in the distance.

'Rebi go over there. I think I see something glinting in the sunlight' spoke Durza. Rebi nodded her head and slowly started to move through the water like an eel. When they got to their destination they were shocked. Lying there at the bottom of the lake was the skeleton of a dragon. It looked like it had been down there for a long time, and Durza was about to say they should continue looking around when he saw a second skeleton underneath the first. He instantly realized that the skeleton was that of a rider, and there was something all riders had that was very valuable and that Durza liked to collect. Durza jumped off of Rebi's back and swam gracefully down to the rider's bones. He quickly started shifting the sand at the bottom until he found what he was looking for. It was a hand and a quarter sword, just a little bit shorter than Zar'roc, riders blade. It was a bright orange color with a silver guard that was kind of small only about two inches of it stuck out on either side. The handle looked to made of some black metal sit in rings instead of spiraled like Zar'roc, and at the hilt there was an orange gem, about half the size of the one on Zar'roc that was shaped like a three dimensional triangle. Durza quickly found its sheath and strapped it and the sword to his back before he and Rebi swam back to the surface. When they came to the surface they quickly showed Brom the sword they found.

"Look at what we found old man" spoke Durza as he pulled the orange sword out of its scabbard. Brom's eyes became large as dinner plates and he quickly started to examine the sword.

"This is amazing, I thought that either the king or the elves had all of the rider's swords or they had been destroyed. You are quite fortunate to have found one" spoke Brom as he handed the sword back to Durza who strapped it to his hip right beside Zar'roc.

"I think it looks good on me" joked Durza as he and the rest of the group made their way to Dras-Leona.

When they finally got to Dras-Leona Durza saw the look of disgust on Eragon's face. He couldn't really blame him. It was a horrible place. Their religion was basically based on cannibalism, almost everyone was as poor as the dirt that covered them from head to toe, and the smell was horrid. Durza absent mindedly listened in on Eragon and Brom's conversation about the city. After a while they found an inn and got a room. Eragon complained about bugs in the mattresses, but Durza just use a simple spell to kill all of the insects in his mattress before lying down and falling asleep.

When they woke up the all split up to try and find out what they could about were the Seather Oil was sent. Eragon went to merchant shop, Brom went to business men, but Durza walked into the castle dressed in clothes fit for the king. Nobody dared ask him any impersonal questions so he was able to walk through the halls and flirt with the maids to learn what they knew about the oil. After a long day Eragon, Brom, and Durza all met back up in their room at the inn to discuss what they learned.

"I was able to find out that the oil was shipped into an old warehouse, but other than that I don't know much" spoke Eragon.

"I learned that the king is coming to Dras-Leona to teach the governor a lesson in humility for taking to many privileges with his power" spoke Brom shocking everyone.

"I learned that the Ra'zac are living in Helgrind. That is where the oil is sent" spoke Durza shocking everyone again.

"It will be difficult to get in. If it is only accessible from the front then it will be heavily guarded, but if it is only accessible by flying mount then we will be to visible and all of Dras-Leona will see us" spoke Brom as he puffed on his pipe.

"It is kind of funny how the people worship Helgrind, but the Ra'zac live inside of it. You don't think that the priests know and are actually worshiping the Ra'zac do you" asked Durza as he rubbed his chin.

"That is a chilling thought and I can only pray that you are wrong" spoke Brom although he did sound both worried and in thought.

"How would we get close to the Ra'zac with these kinds of conditions" asked Brom as he thought about the probabilities of them actually defeating the Ra'zac and living. With Durza it should not be difficult, but the Ra'zac are fast and are filled with much guile so even with Durza it could still be very dangerous. The real probable was Eragon's ability to be harmed even in safe places.

"If we took the places of the tree slaves then we would easily be able to get close to the Ra'zac" spoke Durza as he eyed Brom.

They spoke for a while longer before falling asleep. The next day Eragon and Durza found that Brom had left to go to the castle to discover what it was he could about the Ra'zac, so they were free for the day. They walked around the city eyeing things that interested them, and talking to a few people that they met. In the middle of the streets was a man surrounded by a crowed of jubilant people. On the plat form the rich man started pointing at the people in chains and talking about wears.

"What is he talking about wears? I don't see any wears" spoke Eragon. Durza could tell he had never seen a slave action before as it was common in the larger cities of the empire.

"All of the people in chains are that man's 'wears'. He kidnaps people from their homes and sells them to rich lords and ladies for whatever purposes they may have for them" spoke Durza as he eyed the man with hate. It reminded him of how he was betrayed by Galbatorix so long ago and then the man used his name of names to force him to do his bidding.

"That is terrible, we have to do something" spoke Eragon.

"Well if you start using your magic people will see and then we will be the ones who get screwed in the end" spoke Durza as he eyed the guards that were posted in the area.

"Then what do we do" asked Eragon as he saw the man pull a little girl out of her crying mothers arms.

"We don't listen to Brom and his crap about don't violate people's minds. Watch this" spoke Durza as he looked over at the guards. Instantly they all started to line up and surround the people who were trying to buy the slaves and the slaves.

"What is going on here" asked one of the noble men who hat that disgusting look in his eyes as he eyed the mother of that little girl that was up for action.

"By the order of our lord we are here to purge you of your sins. Please die and repent for the cries you have committed against humanity" spoke the guard. Then one by one all of the guards started to kill the noble men and women. It was pandemonium, but then the chains on the slave's legs broke into pieces freeing them. The mother grabbed her daughter and mad a B line for the cities exit. The slaves were able to escape, but not one of the lords or ladies were so fortunate. After that the guards killed themselves, but nobody noticed Eragon and Durza just watching the scene unfold from a distance.

"How did you do that" asked Eragon in amazement.

"I violated their minds eventually. If you enter someone's mind then you can take them over completely and make them do whatever it is you want them to. Now nobody will ever know we were involved in that little incident and those slaves will be able to restart their lives far away from this hellish place" spoke Durza as he and Eragon continued to walk. All of their walking eventually left them right in front of the cathedral.

They both walked into the cathedral and felt the evil that it held within. The walls were filled with images of creatures killing and eating each other, the smooth black stone floors and walls made the area look ominous, and the gold lining made it look like the cathedral was bleeding veins of gold blood. Silently they walked until they came into the main room were the sermon were given, and Durza watched with confusion as Eragon knelt down. That was when he smelled something foul. He gracefully turned around and saw two of the Ra'zac.

"I see you two still don't bath" spoke Durza shocking Eragon. When he saw then he let loose a yell that sounded like a freight train and unleashed three arrows in quick secession. The Ra'zac dodged the arrows with inhuman speeds and skill before rushing up the pews with their amazing speeds. Durza quickly pulled out Zar'roc and waited for them. That was when he saw the line of guards coming their way. He and Eragon quickly ran out of the room and down the halls with the Ra'zac hot on their heels. When they came to a locked wooden door that wouldn't budge Durza kicked it with the heel of his boots turning the giant wood doors into nothing more than splinters. They quickly took off again trying to out run the Ra'zac, or in Durza's case just trying to match the slow pace that was Eragon. Eventually they came to a wall with no hand holds that Eragon could not clear on his own so Durza through him over it. When he turned around he saw the two Ra'zac eyeing him intently, but Durza knew they would not attack him, they were far from a stupid race, and like him before Rebi were only doing what they did because they were forced by the king.

"Peace. Why are you chasing me when you know I could kill you with just my mind let alone my magic or my new sword" spoke Durza as he showed the Ra'zac Zar'roc.

"You are hunting us. We refuse to let our kind die out. Even if we die then we will still be assured our races survival by the king" spoke the smaller on. Durza could only figure it was a female though how you would tell was anyone's guess.

"You and the other three will die, but I promise to keep your children safe as I know what you're going through as I had to go through it as well. I will make sure that the world does not forget the might of the Ra'zac" spoke Durza with a serious look in his eyes.

The Ra'zac looked shocked, but quickly recovered. It moved on hand over the other and then removed a ring made from some kind of black metal. In the center was the symbol of the Ra'zac in gold.

"We give this to you in thanks for protecting our kind. We may not be loved by the rest of Alegasia, but it was not by our choice that we became the kings assassins" spoke the taller on.

Durza slipped on the ring and nodded to the two Ra'zac before running to catch up with Eragon. He found him and Brom inside of their room at the inn. They quickly got packed and remounted their horses. Durza ran on top of the buildings to avoid being seen and to protect Eragon and Brom form above. He watched as they were chased be a legion of soldiers, and then he saw the way was blocked by soldiers and even they were not the real problem. Oh no the real problem was the cities gates were closing rapidly and Durza knew they wouldn't make it in time. Durza raised his hand and muttered a few words in the ancient language. Instantly all the men fell over dead from having their brains destroyed from within, but then Durza used his magic to keep the gates open long enough for Brom and Eragon to get in. Durza simple flew over the walls using his own magic before he landed and ran to catch up with Brom and Eragon. He and Eragon quickly mounted their dragons and flew off into the sky and watched as Brom trotted away with the horses. Unfortunately a storm broke out and Eragon and Durza were forced to land. Rebi and Saphira had to trot after the horses on foot now which was much harder for them than just flying. When they made camp they ate cold food and their dragons sheltered them from the storm.

"How did the find us" asked Eragon bluntly. Brom was about to light his pipe but thought better of it and put it away.

"The servants in the castle told me there were spies amongst them. Someone told the governor about my questions and so he told the Ra'zac" spoke Brom.

"We can't go to Dras-Leona anymore can we" spoke Eragon.

"Not for at least another five years" spoke Brom as he looked at his pipe before speaking again. "We will need to keep watch as we can't have the Ra'zac attacking us when they are at their strongest" spoke Brom as he looked up from his pipe.

"I need to go back to the forests outskirts. I need to see if the Ra'zac are there, and if they are kill the" spoke Durza as he looked at the ring the Ra'zac gave him. Brom saw the ring and looked surprised, but did not say anything.

"Very well, but be careful. The Ra'zac are very deadly at night" spoke Brom.

"I know" spoke Durza as he and Rebi took off into the night sky.

(Five hours later)

When Durza returned he found Eragon crying over Brom's body, and a new guy. He quickly landed Rebi and ran over to Brom. After checking on him he realized that he was really in need of help so Durza quickly spoke the word for heal in the ancient language and the hole on the side of his chest healed instantly.

He and the new guy quickly picked up Eragon and Brom and Rebi freed Saphira and made a quick getaway into the night.

A few hours later

Eragon woke up and saw Durza and the new guy talking. It was obvious they were having an interesting conversation as neither of them acknowledged the fact that he was awake, although he knew Durza knew that he was awake.

"Hey brat I would like to introduce you to someone. This is Murtagh, Murtagh this is Eragon" spoke Durza as he introduced the two of them. They shook hands although Eragon looked to be in pain as he did it.

"So how is Brom" asked Eragon as he looked over at Brom's body.

"I healed him up, but those Ra'zac had already coated their blades in the Seather Oil so it is very iffy. He is old so that negatively affects him, but he is wise and full of magic so that is a positive effect. It could go either way" spoke Durza as he looked at the fire.

"We can't stay here for much longer. The Ra'zac will defiantly come back but this time with soldiers" spoke Eragon as he hobbled over to Saphira.

"Well you may be able to travel, but he isn't. You don't just take a knife between the ribs and just walk away" spoke Murtagh as he stomped out the fire.

"We could make a gurney. Rebi could carry him while we ride the horses" spoke Durza. Murtagh nodded his head and they quickly started to build the gurney. After they built it Rebi took hold of it and flew into the night sky. Eragon got on Saphira's back and flew after Rebi while Durza got on snowfire's back and used his mind to tell the other horse to follow him. They traveled for hours until Rebi told him that she would have to stop as her wings were getting tired.

They finally came upon a cave system that Rebi had found. It was perfect for them as it could hold two dragons, three horses, and four humans. Durza made a quick fire with his magic and Murtagh put Eragon beside Saphira as they slept.

"Is he always so useless" asked Murtagh as he looked at Eragon.

"Pretty much" laughed Durza as he laid down beside Rebi as they fell asleep. Murtagh gave him a wave good night and he fell asleep as well.

The next morning they were all awaken by the two dragons. When they saw Brom shaking violently the quickly pinned him down until his seizure stopped. When it did they realized he was burning up so Durza used magic to cool him. Eventually Brom's eyes opened and he looked at Eragon weakly. Durza and Murtagh knew that whatever he wanted to say was to be private so they left. A few minutes later Eragon came out of the cave with tears in his eyes and they could only assume Brom had passed on.

After that Durza dragged his body out of the cave and carried it outside of the cave and up a sandstone peak. Their Eragon used magic to melt the sandstone around Brom's body and then harden it when it hat incased him, after that Eragon wrote runes on the sand stone grave depicting a small overview of Brom's life.

After that Saphira touched her snout to the sandstone gave and then it started to shimmer. After a few seconds the entire tombstone grave became diamond around Brom. Saphira had ensured that the old man was never ravaged by the sands of time, and Durza cast a few protection spells around the tombstone to make sure that thieves would not try and take the diamond for themselves thus desecrating the old man's final resting place.

That night Murtagh asked many questions about Brom, and his accomplishments. The thing that Durza didn't like was the way Murtagh was eyeing Zar'roc that was around his hip. The odd thing was that he felt he remembered Murtagh from somewhere, but the memory was one of the ones the spirits ruined when he became a true shade.

"May I see that sword" asked Murtagh as he pointed at Zar'roc. Durza thought about it for a moment, but finally relinquished it to Murtagh who looked at it with disgust.

"Where did you get this" asked Murtagh as he eyed the symbol on the blade.

"I beat the crap out of Brom and took it from him when we first met. After that I joined this little rag tag group, but now I have two riders swords" spoke Durza as he pulled out the orange rider sword.

"Wow that is amazing. Where did you find another riders sword" asked Murtagh as he eyed the orange sword.

"At the bottom of Leona Lake" laughed Durza as he sheathed the orange sword and took back Zar'roc from Murtagh's grip.

"I can't believe you would wield one of the Foresworn's bloody weapons" spoke Murtagh with disgust in his voice.

"A sword is a sword to me. No matter how powerful a sword is it will only sit on the ground and do nothing without someone to wield it. That means that the actions of the wielder are not the fault of the blade, so the blade should not be punished for its previous owners actions" spoke Durza as he laid down underneath Rebi.

Murtagh looked god smacked, but didn't say anything and went to sleep as well.

The next day they all packed up and started to get ready to leave.

"He where are we going" asked Eragon as he limped towards Durza and Murtagh.

"We are going to Gilead to find a man name Doornad. Apparently he can help us find the Varden as we have nothing else we can do" spoke Durza as he continued to pack.

"How do you know this" asked Eragon.

Durza decided to lie so as to not upset Eragon before the trip even started. "I overheard Brom talking about him in Tierm when he was talking to Jode. He always underestimated me even after I defeated him so easily the first time we met" spoke Durza as he mounted Snowfire, Eragon mounted his horse, and Murtagh mounted his war horse. Saphira and Rebi flew high in the sky and out of a normal human's sight. After the dragons were gone Eragon, Durza, and Murtagh set of for Gilead.

For the next month they rode towards Gilead. Over this time they all became close friends. Eragon was depressed that Durza did not teach him as Brom, but quickly got over it with all of the spars he, Durza, and Murtagh had. All of the sparing kept Murtagh and Eragon lean and fit, but no matter how strong or fast they got they were never even close to matching Durza for either. He found out that they shared similar interests, but under silent agreement did not speak of their pasts. Durza did not talk about his life as a shade, or the life he led before he ever became a shade. Eragon didn't tell Murtagh how he found Saphira's egg, how he survived against the Ra'zac, or anything like that while Murtagh didn't real almost anything about himself before he had met them.

When they were finally in front of Gilead Murtagh decided that he would be the one to enter it and speak to Doornat. It took several hours, but then a lone rider in the distance could be seen rushing at them at recluse speeds.

"Who is that" asked Eragon as he pulled the sword he had gotten from Durza that he had gotten from one of the Ra'zac that he had killed.

"Don't worry it is just Murtagh" spoke Durza as he watched Murtagh approach them.

When he got there he started eating the food they had made with gusto. It took several minutes for him to finish eating, but when he did he looked very pleased with himself. He went on to explain that someone who knew him had seen him in public and started calling out his name. It would not be good for them to stay close to the city incase soldiers started looking for him.

That night Eragon, Murtagh, Durza, Saphira, Rebi, and the horses waited with bated breath for Doornat to appear like he agreed to. Then Durza smelled a familiar stench and knew instantly that they had been set up so he shouted "Trap" before turning around and shouting "kveykva". Instantly black lighting jumped off of his fingers and turned an Urgal into blood droplets. Everyone turned around and saw at least two hundred Urgals just waiting to charge, and then they did. Durza was able to kill them with ease, but he knew protecting everyone from these numbers would be difficult, and then Eragon got knocked out by an Urgal before getting dragged off. Eragon quickly gave the horses the command to meet them in a clearing a couple of leagues away before he through Murtagh on Saphira's back, and he jumped on Rebi's back and few away into the night sky.


	4. Chapter 4

'Why did you not rescue Eragon' demanded Saphira as she paced around the cave she and the rest of their little group had found when the fled the army of Urgals.

'Your idiotic rider tried to fight an army of Urgal with nothing more than a bow and a few broken ribs. Is it really my fault that he is stupid, and captured' replied Durza heatedly. He saw Saphira's eye take on a hard look and her grow became threatening.

'Do not play me for a fool! I know you had another reason for letting the Urgal take Eragon, and I want to know. He is my rider and so help me if he comes to harm I will end you' shouted Saphira. Now it was Rebi's turn to growl darkly as she eyed Saphira. Durza placed his hand on her snout to calm her before looking back at Saphira.

'Yes I let the Urgals take him, but it had to be done. I was going to tell you all this eventually, but now it looks like my plans have been accelerated thanks to Eragon's foolishness' spoke Durza as he sat on a stone throne that he had made from the nearby rocks. He took a second to get comfortable before looking bad at Saphira. "I let the Urgals take Eragon because of what is in Gilead" spoke Durza.

'What is in Gilead' asked Murtagh. It seemed he was finally going to get in on the conversation though weather he would help was an entirely different matter.

'Before I became Rebi's rider I was a shade that was enslaved by Galbatorix. I won't say how or why we knew each other but needless to say it was not good. We were partners and we were supposes to share everything that we got, but he stumbled across something that gave him absolute control over me. He discovered my true name and in doing so made me his slave for what I assume he believed eternity. The last thing I did for him before going after Eragon and the two dragon eggs was ambush a group of elves that were transporting the eggs from the Varden to the elves. It was not hard to catch them un aware. Elves are very proud, and even more so over confident in their abilities. All we had to do is hide and make sure that the wind blew against us, and not with us and we were in. I quickly killed two of the elves, and the other Urgal were able to kill two more while they were down. I went to finish off the elf woman to take back the kings precious dragon eggs, but she was even cleverer than I gave her credit for and she used a teleportation spell to send the eggs away. I was angry that I was cheated my victory and was instead handed defeat along with having to hear the king bitch me out for losing the eggs so instead of killing her I subdued her and drugged her so she could not use magic. After that I took her to Gilead to be tortured until she either died or she told me everything I wanted to know. I didn't have time to actually torture her though as I was quick to go after the dragon eggs to avoid the kings wrath. Turns out it was the best thing that could ever happen to me. I decided to make amends so to speak and I was going to rescue her if she was still here and send her back to her people' spoke Durza as he played with the ring the Ra'zac had given him. He was still wondering why the Ra'zac would have a ring made for them that could hold magic if they themselves were in capable of actually using magic. He had stored half of the magic he kept in Zar'roc inside of the ring and now when he pushed a quarter of his magic into Zar'roc and the other quarter in the ring. It left half of his magic inside of him which was more than enough for fighting nothing short of a master magician.

'That still does not tell us why you let the Urgals take Eragon' demanded Saphira.

'If I had simply killed two hundred Urgals in a matter of minutes the king would no doubt put two and two together and realized that I didn't die, but actually became a rider. I am sure that the Ra'zac had not told him about me, so I want to keep it that way. The reason I let them take Eragon is because I know they will not hurt him to bad, and he has already been able to scry her, although I do not know how that is possible. We need Eragon inside of the fortress because it will make rescuing him and the elf woman a lot faster if I already know where they are, plus she will be very useful when we join the Varden. If she says we rescued her then that will no doubt leave us in the Varden's good graces' spoke Durza in an exasperated tone. He looked at Murtagh and could see that he agreed that it was the best way of finding the elf, but storming a fortress did seem to bother him. Rebi seemed happy about it, but Saphira looked angry, probably because he had used her rider like he was nothing but a piece of meat.

'Don't worry tomorrow me and Murtagh will go into the city disguised as beggar. Once that is done we will walk to the side of the fortress were I will invade one of the guards minds and have him escort up personally. We will pick up Eragon and the elf and leave like we owned the place' spoke Durza as he stood up and stretched his legs.

Murtagh nodded his head before lying down and falling asleep. Saphira just snorted her nose and to Durza's surprise little blue flames came out of them. After that she flexed her wings and took off into the night sky. Rebi just laid down beside the cave wall and beckoned for him to lay down against her warm belly. He nodded his head and did as she had asked.

'She is really mad isn't she' spoke Durza to Rebi. He knew she would be, but she also knew he was right. They need everything they could get their hands on to make sure the Varden did not try to use them. They could not let them decided the future of the riders. He had to make sure that the Varden knew they were more along the lines of hired swords that you did not want to double cross instead of pawns that they could move across the battle field however which way they desired.

'Yes as to be expected, but she will come around once we rescue Eragon and the elf. She just feels lonely without him, and the way he left is not helping matters. All we can do is wait for tomorrow and hope that everything turns out alright' spoke Rebi as she nuzzled in closer to him.

'I just have an odd feeling something bad will happen tomorrow. It is not like a premonition more like I feel something dark in that village and whatever it is it is far from a holey force' spoke Durza as he cast a calculating look at the village. It was odd to put such a strong forte inside of a crappy city like that, but maybe the village cropped up around the forte? It would certainly not be the first time, but still it was odd for the city to still be that run down.

'I have the feeling as well. It could be why Saphira is so edgy, but oddly it feels similar to the way you use to feel before we became rider and dragon' spoke Rebi as she looked over at the city as well.

'You mean like a shade? That is impossible, unless the king or someone else made another shade after I was reported dead. The odd thing is that the shade's power is so weak. If it really is a shade then it must only have two or three spirits inside of it. That is good, but still if it really is a shade then Eragon is nowhere near as safe as I thought he was. The shade will make sure Eragon is not harmed as the king would have made sure of that, but it has any form of brain power than it will just invade Eragon's mind and just take what it wants from him. That would truly be an unpleasant sensation, especially with how stubborn the boy is' spoke Durza as he pulled out Zar'roc and the orange rider sword.

Durza walked over to were Murtagh was lying down. He was not asleep yet, but Durza knew he would be soon if he did not wake him. Swiftly, Durza kicked Murtagh in the leg as to not hurt him, but to get his attention.

"What" asked Murtagh as he looked over at Durza? He saw that Durza had both of his rider swords out and slowly went to reach for his knife that he kept hidden at all times. He was surprised when Durza through him the orange riders sword.

"Just because Eragon is not here doesn't mean we can't still practice" spoke Durza as he placed the spell on the swords that would keep them from killing each other.

Murtagh grinned. He always did secretly want to use a riders sword, and sparring with Durza was always fun. He never got close to hurting him, but he knew he improved each and every time they spared even if it was just little by little. He quickly got up and they started to duel. They dueled for two hours before Murtagh had to quite to catch his breath. He could see why Durza enjoyed collecting the rider's swords now. They were the perfect sword was all that he could say about them. The sword did exactly what he wanted it to do when he wanted it to do it, and it felt so light that he was swinging almost twice as fast as he normally would with his old sword. When they got done he handed Durza back the rider's sword albert a little reluctantly. After that they both went to bed and prepared for the next day.

The next day they woke up early. Saphira had come back during the night, and her attitude had improved, although Durza was sure that it would not return to normal until they had saved her trouble prone rider from Gilead's fortress.

Durza quickly used magic to disguise himself and Murtagh as homeless beggars. When Murtagh looked at himself in the lake they passed by he could not help but wrinkly his nose up in disgust.

"It is not very had to see that you're from a wealthy family Murtagh. If you want to keep your past hidden then is suggest you do a better job at playing the part you chose" spoke Durza in a whisper as they approached the front gates of Gilead. Murtagh shot him a worried look, but dropped when Durza just shrugged his shoulders in an 'I don't really care about your past' kind of way that instantly put Murtagh at ease. When they got to the gates, the guards stopped them for inspection.

"Hold on there you two. State your business for coming into Gilead, and don't lie to me" spoke the guard in an unfriendly tone of voice. Durza wanted to just waste him, but sometimes subtlety is better than just showing off how much force you can use.

"My friend and I were just hired to work in the forte. If we are late we were will get lashings as the guards do not like not having their potatoes not peeled nor their loo's not cleaned" spoke Durza in a wheezy voice. The guard looked disgusted at the thought of them peeling his potato's but not so much at them cleaning the toilets.

"All right you're free to go in, but if you try to take anything that doesn't belong to you you'll regret it" spoke the guard in what he thought was a threatening voice. If only he knew what Durza was capable of then he would not have been so liberal with his words.

After they got out of hearing distance Murtagh got close to Durza and whispered "janitors, really? Couldn't you have come up with something a little less degrading than that?"

"You really need to loosen up. You know if you are always looking down on people then life will through you a swift kick in the ass and send you somewhere you don't want to be, kind of like were you are now" joked Durza as they walked down the bumpy stone road towards the forte. Durza saw the dirty look Murtagh gave him and just laughed on the inside. When they finally got to the forte there were two guards protecting the main entrance.

"Halt, what is your business in Gilead's forte" asked the guards.

Durza just smiled and entered the man's mind. It didn't even take a second to take him and his friend over. Murtagh looked at him and he nodded his head to let Murtagh know that he had successfully taken over the guards.

"Take us to the captured rider and then to the elf" spoke Durza. The guards stood up strait and escorted them like they were royalty down the hallways. Their footing was done with mechanical procession and their steps never lost their rhythm. Their faces were blank as they walked down the hallways with their pikes at their sides. All in all they were the definition of what soldiers were supposed to look and act like when they were escorting V. .

Eventually they came around a corner and were surprised when they saw six guards about to attack Eragon, who had somehow escaped captive and had tried to leave, although he was going in the wrong direction. When Durza heard the captain yell charge, he mentally ordered the two guards he was controlling to attack the other guards. Murtagh decided to take out a few with his bow, and Durza was pleased to see that he was a master of the bow and his skill with it was easily on par with his skill with a sword. When all of the guards were dead Durza and Murtagh revealed themselves.

"Durza, Murtagh, is that really you" asked Eragon in a slightly woozy voice.

"Yea, where were you going" asked Murtagh who noticed that Eragon was going in the wrong direction to leave.

"They have an elf lock up here, but it gets even worse. There is a shade in the forte. I saw him earlier and he was commanding the guards like how you do, but I know he wasn't controlling them. Why would there be a shade here" asked Eragon in a frightened voice.

"Obviously the king made one to replace me, but I highly doubt he is as strong as me, but still we need to be careful. I lost almost all of my knowledge on black magic when I changed, but I am sure he still remembers. Let's hurry up and grab the elf and get out of here. We don't need to have a wide scale shade fight in the middle of Gilead, because if we do I don't doubt there will be nothing left of Gilead when were through" said Durza as they all started to run for the elf's cell.

When they got to the cell that the elf was in they saw that she was conscious, but very weak. She held her head like a queen, and her green almost black eyes held a look of defiance right before she collapsed. Eragon was able to catch her while Durza was still in the haul making sure no more guards came to check on the noise.

"Can you carry her" asked Murtagh as he looked at the elf.

"No, I am too weak. They drugged me to make sure I didn't use magic, so I had to stop eating so that the drug would fade, but it left me feeling weak" spoke Eragon as he looked from Murtagh to the elf.

"Oh my god, just give her to me. We don't have all day so discussing who should carry the damn elf is not important" spoke Durza as he took the elf from Eragon's grasp and through her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"All right you don't have to be so violent" spoke Eragon as he started to follow Murtagh and Durza.

They quickly left the cell and started walking up a stone stair case. Eragon, not being able to keep his mouth shut for more than five seconds decided to talk while they tried to escape a forte.

"How will escape without being noticed" asked Eragon as he tried to keep up with Durza and Murtagh.

"We won't" spoke Durza, as they entered a banquet room. The room had shields that lined the walls, and a large table used for feeding the important people of the city. Durza placed the elf on the table and then went turned to Murtagh.

"Go get the elf's weapons while Eragon and I protect the elf" spoke Durza as Eragon started to eat the food that was on the table. The boy acted like he hadn't eaten in days when it had only been like twelve hours. A few minutes later Murtagh came back with a sword and bow that were of far better make than Durza had ever seen bar the rider's swords.

"I got the elves sword and bow. I was not sure if I would have been able to find it but compared to the other weapons in there it was easy to see which was hers, and which the soldiers were" spoke Murtagh as he showed them the weapons.

"We need to hurry up and leave before the shade finds us" spoke Eragon as he examined the elf.

"It is too late for that" spoke Durza as he turned around to see a creature that looked a lot like him when he was still a normal shade. Its teeth were filed down to points; it had that frizzy red hair, murderous red eyes, and pail white almost translucent skin.

"He is right. It is too late to hide, and now there is no chance for you to escape" spoke the shade as he approached them. Durza pulled out Zar'roc and got ready for the shade while Eragon and Murtagh pulled out their bows and strung them.

"Hahaha, do you really think you are a match for me" asked the shade in his cold almost dead voice.

"You have much to learn if you can't see the difference in the power between us child" chided Durza as he watched the new shade with keen eyes.

The shade looked furious and quickly attacked him. To Eragon and Murtagh it looked like two red and black blurs were moving around at speeds they could not comprehend as the sound of metal could be heard continuously clashing. To Durza it was actually pretty fun. He had not had a fight that he actually needed his speed or strength in a long time. It was not that this new shade was a challenge for him, he was strong and fast compared to human standards true, but Durza could tell he was weak by shade standards. If Durza had to guess he would say that the shade only had about three spirits inside of him making him more of a joke than anything. Whoever had made this shade obviously did not know what he was doing, or intentionally made him weak because a three spirit shade was just sad.

As they were fighting there was a crash on top of the roof followed by the sounds of people screaming. The screaming continued as the sound of metal hitting something hard could be herd and the ceiling started to crack. The fight continued as did the sound of fighting on the roof until a large section of the ceiling was removed to reveal the blue sky. When this happened Durza kick the lesser shade into the opposing wall with a powerful kick. The shade lost his grip on his sword and threw it into the air. Durza easily caught it and looked at the other shade with contempt.

"Do you really think that will stop me" asked the shade with hate filled red eyes.

"You're not worthy to die by my hands" spoke Durza as he looked at the elf's bow and some arrows on the floor.

"Oh and how will you be killing me" asked the shade as a medium sized fireball formed in his hand.

"Like this" spoke Durza as the bow and one arrow levitated into the air. The arrow fitted itself inside of the bow and pulled itself back. Right before the arrow unleashed itself Durza shouted "kveykva" and then released the arrow. The arrow instantly was coated in a thick layer of black lighting that shot across the room at speeds not even the lesser shade could keep up with. When the arrow hit his head it took it clean off only leaving everything from the neck bellow, but the arrow did not stop there. It completely passed through the stone wall with ease and then all the way across Gilead before disappearing into the side of a mountain. The shades body started to convulse and then exploded in a puff of black smoke before disappearing all together. Only his clothes were left behind as was his sword. Durza looked down at the sword and swore.

"Son of a bitch, I worked for that ass for hundreds of years and not once was I allowed a sword not made by humans and then he gives this weakling a sword like this after only a few months of service. I will kill that ass when I see him next" ranted Durza, but his rant was cut short when sixteen soldiers came into the room looking ready to attack them. Durza did not even give them the chance to speak.

"kveykva" shouted Durza and sixteen bolts of lightning shout out of his fingers and turned the soldiers into mummified versions of themselves. After that the rest of the roof fell in completely burying the dead soldiers. There was enough room for them and one dragon so Murtagh and Durza would have to wait for Saphira to take Eragon and the elf.

When the sappy hellos were over with Eragon, Saphira, and the elf were his in the sky flying away from Gilead. It did not take long for Rebi to fill the space Saphira had and she quickly nuzzled her head into Durza's chest.

'I missed you little one' spoke Rebi as Murtagh and he mounted her.

'As did I you Rebi' spoke Durza as they took off into the day's sky.

When they started to take off they heard the twang sound of bows being released, followed by the pain filled roar from Saphira. Durza knew instantly that they must have been hit by a volley of archers, but blamed them for taking so damn long with their sappy reunion

'Damn, it took them so long the archers were able to position themselves close enough to attack them' shouted Durza as he and Murtagh looked over to were the archers were. Durza was not about to let them hurt the one person he loved so he raised his hand to the sky. Instantly it darkened and black lighting filled the sky. Seconds later the largest bolt of lightning anyone had ever seen shot down from the heavens and completely annihilated all of the archers in a sea of black lighting.

'That will teach them not to point their pathetic weapons at my girl' spoke Durza as they flew across the blue sky that had cleared up after his electrical attack. He could feel Rebi's happiness in the back of his mind at his need to protect her even though she did not feel she needed to be protected.

They followed Eragon and Saphira until they came upon a clearing were they saw her land on a cliff with her wings out stretched. Just like Durza had thought there were multiple holes in Saphira's wings and even an arrow that had not pierced it all the way. Quickly Rebi and crew landed beside them. When they dismounted Murtagh helped Eragon get the elf down from Saphira's back while Durza inspected Saphira's wings for damage. It was not too bad, and could be quickly healed so all in all it was a good day.

Durza quickly waved his hand over Saphira and watched as the holes in her wings closed up. It was then that he noticed another arrow that he had not seen before. This one was in the large muscle of her wings. He gently, but firmly, held her wings and broke off the arrow head. She shivered in anticipation, but no pain came to her. She realized that Durza must have somehow numbed the place the arrow was implanted and was very thankful for it. Durza reached for the bottom half of the arrow and pulled it out as well with one quick yank. After it was all said and done Durza finished healing Saphira and walked back over to Rebi after receiving thanks from Saphira for helping her.

"We would move faster if we only rode Rebi and Saphira but I doubt either of you wish to leave your horses behind do you" asked Durza as he looked from Eragon and Murtagh to their three horses that looked weary of the two dragons.

"No, I won't leave Tornac behind" spoke Murtagh as he looked at his war horse with regret in his eyes.

"I can't leave Snowfire and Cornac behind" spoke Eragon as he looked at the two horses fondly.

'Damn sentimentality' swore Durza as he mounted Snowfire. He looked over at the elf and then back at Eragon. "You might want to ride fast. She has been poisoned and I don't think she will last long. Any ordinary human would have died an hour after that poison was applied, so be thankful for the little things in life" spoke Durza as he took off. Murtagh quickly mounted Tornac and chased after Durza as did Eragon who was riding Cornac. The dragons quickly took to the skies and circled overhead as they raced across Alegasia. After twelve hours of constant running neither Eragon nor Murtagh could continue on so they made camp. While they made camp Eragon decided to start talking again.

"How did they catch an elf" asked Eragon as he examined the elf again. Durza was starting to believe the boy had an unnatural attraction to the woman, but kept his comments to himself.

"After the Urgals captured you they handed you over to a squad of the empire's soldiers. It appears the Urgals are working for the empire as was that shade" spoke Murtagh as he examined the sword Durza had given him. It was the one he had taken off of the destroyed shade he had defeated in Gilead. It was of the finest make he had ever seen, and the only blades that he had seen were the rider's swords, and the elf's sword. The only flaw on the sword was a long scratch that went up the blades side.

"Oh my god, I insulted the most powerful man in all of Alegasia when I insulted that Urgals master" spoke Eragon as he looked at them with shock written all over his face.

"I doubt it. As much as people try to deny it the Urgals are not monsters. They have the same inelegance as any man, but are looked down upon for their life style. The Urgals hate the empire as much as the Varden, but they love to fight and it has caused the division of their race. The king hates them as well, so I would have to guess that it is not him who is the Urgals master, but that shade that we temporarily killed" spoke Durza shocking everyone around him.

'What do you mean' asked Rebi, but she projected her mind so that everyone could hear her.

'Just like I invaded those human's minds, that shade could have easily done the same to the Urgals. He must be using them as a disposable army though for what I do not know' spoke Durza. He could see the looks of worry on everyone's faces, but he knew there was nothing that they could do about it now.

"Wait now that the shade is gone wont they snap out of the mind control effects" asked Eragon as eyed Durza with scrutiny.

"The shade is not dead. I only temporarily destroyed him. He will rebuild himself and will even get stronger for it but it will be painful for him and it will take a while to do. Just because the shade does not have his corporeal body does not mean he does not have a conscience or his magic. He will reform and his control over his slaves will remain" spoke Durza as he stuck Zar'roc in the fire and then pulled it out. It glowed red hot, but it quickly faded and left no distortion or imperfection on his sword.

"Oh" said Eragon looking disheartened. He looked over at the elf and decided to change the subject. "We should make a bed for her" spoke Eragon as he walked over to the elf.

Durza just snapped his fingers and a tree started to grow from the ground beside her. It continued to grow until it took on the shape of a bed. On the inside was a soft layer of leaves that would gentle gold the elf while the wood supported the whole thing.

Durza watched as Eragon went to place her on the bed, but stopped when he saw bruises on her arms. He continued to examine her and even removed the leather armor that she wore. The girl had many lashes on her back surrounded by thick purple bruises that covered the rest of her body. He heard Eragon curse and saw the way Murtagh reacted. He just thought about how easily humans were to distract with physical appearances. It the girl had been ugly he was sure they would not have reacted as badly, but did not say anything. Durza knew Eragon would try to heal her, but he was too tired and weak to do it so he did it himself. He watched with morbid fascination as the bruises and cuts turned into perfect unmarked skin. Even he had to admit she was a lovely creature to look at. After that they threw a blanket over her and let her rest.

"Where should we go now" asked Eragon as he looked at his companions.

"I don't know. I doubt the elf would tell us where the elven sanctuary is so that is out of the question, we don't know where the Varden is, and staying inside the empire will not be a wise move. The king will undoubtedly send the Ra'zac and a fraction of his army to come look for us" spoke Durza as he placed Zar'roc inside of his sheath and then took out the orang rider blade and continued to examine it. He had yet to name it, but every time he went to do it he just felt like he shouldn't. He eventually realized that the sword must have either already had a name or refused to be called anything else, or he was not meant to name it. If he was not meant to be the swords owner then the real owner had better find him another blade to compensate him for his loss.

"We should probably head for the Beor Mountains or Surda. It is not in the king's control and we will be safe from the king's armies. We will probably still have to watch out for the king's assassins, but I am sure we will be able to take care of ourselves" spoke Murtagh as he examined his own sword, but Durza saw the quick glances he would give to the orang sword in Durza's hand. If he wanted the sword, then he would have to be willing to trade for it.

"To do that we would have to cross the Hadarac Desert, and that isn't no cake walk with the way things are going for us" spoke Durza as he rode Snowfire towards the Desert that took up so much of Alegasia.

"We must do it. You said that she has been poisoned, but we can't get the antidote while we are in the empire can we. That means we will have to go to Surda or find the Varden" spoke Eragon as he eyed the elf with a worried expression. Durza just rolled his eyes at the boy's childish crush. He knew that the elf was going to break his heart, but that would have to wait for later.

"It is not that easy. The Hadarac Desert is a massive expanse of land and is the reason the king has not been able to expand his empire farther. We would have to travel something like that and feed two humans, three horses, and two dragons. The desert is very large yes, but is almost devoid of life, and there is almost no water, the sun is killer, and the wind and sand don't make things any better. To do this will be a monumental task and will require both skill and luck to do" spoke Durza as he looked at the desert before him. Even with his advanced vision he could not see the end of it. If he were alone this would be an easy and simple task, but now he had to deal with all of this.

"Can't we just make water from the sand with magic" asked Eragon as he picked up some sand. Durza quickly slapped it out of his hand and gave him a look that told him he was being stupid again.

"Transmutation is extremely magically taxing. Just changing a handful of sand into water could damn near kill you. Hmmmm, we might not be able to turn water into sand, but I am sure we could use magic to pull water to the surface of the ground. It would not take no whole bunch of magic, and it will be relatively simple to do" spoke Durza as he continued to scan the desert with his hawk like eyes.

'We could hunt for ourselves so you will not have to worry about that, and you could find prey and kill it with magic. The only problem would be carrying the elf across the desert. She can't ride us for long as our scales would rub her raw, and she can't ride the horses as they would shake and jar her making her condition worse' spoke Rebi as she landed beside them. The horses looked started, but Durza eased their worries with his mind.

'We could always strap her to one of you two's stomachs. It will keep her protected from just about everything, except if people start shooting arrows at it, but even if they did you two could just fly out of range before they do' spoke Durza as he looked over at the elf.

"Make some ropes and tie her to one of the dragon's stomachs. I will reinforce them with magic to make sure their scales don't rub through and cause her to fall" spoke Durza as he looked at Eragon and Murtagh. They instantly got to work tying blankets and spare clothes until they resembled ropes and then tied the elf to the bottom of Saphira. Durza could only guess Eragon wanted the elf to be as close as possible for some reason.

"Are we really going to do this? It will seriously be a challenge" spoke Murtagh as he examined the desert with a look of dread.

"The elf could be useful for gaining access to the Varden. If we have her then I am sure we will be able to get in with ease, after all what would the elves say if one of their own died at the gates of the Varden simply because they did not trust us" spoke Durza as they began rushing across the desert like the devil himself was on their tail.

The road across the desert at break neck speeds. The dragons flew overhead, but generally did not say anything. The horses were miserable with all of the running they were being forced to do. Eragon and Murtagh were getting increasingly less bearable to be around. They were cranky and irritable from a lack of sleep, the heat, the unbearable sun, the wind and sand combination, the 'off' food that they ate which was basically lizards cook over an open fire. Durza was once again thankful that he did not need to eat as it would have made him less than happy to have to eat that. The elf never moved the entire time they ran across the seemingly endless dessert. Eventually Eragon and Murtagh stopped talking all together and just kept angry scowls on their faces. Durza easily ignored them, but it was still boring even for him. His blood boiled for action and adventure. He could only think of two things. The first thing he and Rebi would do once the king was dead, like exploring the lands outside of Alegasia, and starting the shade race. He didn't yet know how he would do that, but he was sure he could do it. The second was he wished Angela was with him. He was sure she would be able to come up with some way to heal the elf so they would not need to rush across all of Alegasia for some elf. He also missed the smart mouthed witch Angela. She was good with her words, and he could also tell she was very powerful. At first he had not liked her, but after a while he had found he enjoyed her company a lot. She was interesting, powerful, and for a lack of a better word very beautiful. She did not hold that fake beauty that the elves he had seen had, but a true beauty the radiated from deep within. He could only guess he was one of those people who were attracted to powerful women for some odd reason. After the fifth day Durza spotted some hills in the distance and knew instantly what they were.

"It looks like we are getting closer" spoke Durza as he pointed at the tips of the Beor Mountains. Both Eragon and Murtagh looked up, but their cranky mood was still intact.

"What are you talking about all I see are hills" spoke Eragon as his bloodshot eyes glared hatefully at the hills.

"Yea, they must" but he stopped when it hit him. He quickly started squinting his eyes trying to make sure what he was seeing was the real deal. Then a look of realization hit him and he grinned for the first time in days. "No not hills. Those are the tops of the Beor Mountains" spoke Murtagh as he looked more upbeat then he had in days.

"Yes, but they are still many leagues away. Maybe we will reach them by tonight or tomorrow morning depending on how fast we move" spoke Durza as he ushered Snowfire onwards to shorten the time he had to spend with the two angry children in this god forsaken desert. Murtagh and Eragon quickly copied him and were hot on his tracks as he ran spurred on Snowfire across the desert.

It took all day, and night to get there, but when they did it was a welcome relief. Eventually sand turned to dirt, dirt turned to grass, and grass turned into a thick forest. When they looked up they could not see the top of the mountains, but that was not important to them. The only thing that mattered to them now was getting some sleep. Durza caught Rebi and Saphira eyeing some strange deer animal with curved horns that jumped more than they ran. He nodded his head to Rebi and she and Saphira took off and started to hunt for a truly satisfying meal. They had survived in the desert, but now they could stuff themselves.

Eragon and Murtagh quickly set up a camp and fell asleep before the even ate. Their skin was burned and Durza could see water blisters forming on their skin, so he used a quick healing spell so that he wouldn't have to hear them bitch in the morning. After that he fell asleep wondering what tomorrow held for them.

In the morning everyone woke up and started packing up. Out of the corner of his eye, Durza could see Eragon looking intently at the elf with a look of confusion on his face. Durza continued to watch until he realized what Eragon was doing, but did not say or do anything. The boy needed to learn, and his head was far too hard to learn by anyways except example. He watched as Eragon's face contorted in pain, then a look of utter loss was on his face. Durza was about to join the fray and eject the elves mind out of Eragon's until Eragon shouted that he was a rider and was a friend in the ancient language. Durza could tell the probe did not leave his mind, but the assault stopped. After fifteen minutes Eragon came back to the land of the living and noticed everyone looking at him.

"I bet you never try to invade a elves mind again" spoke Durza as he looked at Eragon with a look that spoke volumes on how stupid he was.

"I just wanted to find out where the Varden was so we would have a place to stay" defended Eragon as he looked at them trying to find someone who would back him up.

"She was in the care of a shade, a weak one but still a shade for months and he never got the information he wanted. Do you honestly think that you, a new rider and someone who has known of magic for less than a year could have done better? You might think that girl is sixteen, but I assure you she is a few hundred years old at least. She is far from defenseless, but once again you only looked on the outside and did not think before you acted which could have caused you to lose something you do not wish to lose. If that elf had discovered you true name I would have killed her without hesitation. You have no idea what kind of power someone can have over you when they know you true name. Do you not remember when you listened in on Brom and Jode back in Tierm? He said that you had to be trained before you got to the Varden and especially before you met Queen Islanzadi. Islanzadi is not a human or dwarf name, it is an elf name. If that girl had learned your true name then I have no doubt she would have told the queen who would have without a doubt used it against you to force you to do whatever it is she wanted" spoke Durza as he ranted at Eragon for his stupid mistake that almost cost them dearly. Durza would have been extremely pissed to go through all of this just to have to kill the elf now.

"Look I am sorry ok, but I discovered how to get to the Varden so it all worked out in the end" defended Eragon heatedly as he stood up. Durza just shot him a dirty look before walking over to Rebi and mounting her. After that they took off and started flying around the tops of the mountains for the rest of the day.

The next day they were packing up to leave when Durza heard something in the distance. When he looked up he groaned. Everyone looked in the direction that Durza was looking and Murtagh swore.

"It is the empire. They have found us, somehow" spoke Eragon as he looked at the army. It was hundreds strong and they were no coming in their direction.

"Yes, but those aren't men but Urgals" spoke Murtagh as he looked at the banned that they were supporting.

"How do you know that" asked Eragon.

"I met their chieftain once, and I still have the scars" spoke Murtagh bitterly.

"It gets worse" spoke Durza as he eyed the incoming army.

"How does it get worse than Urgals" asked Eragon incredulously.

"Because the entire army is made up of Kull' spoke Durza and instantly he heard Murtagh swear loudly.

"What's a Kull" asked Eragon as he looked at the oncoming army. They had already mounted their horses and were fleeing, but even still the Urgals were gaining on them.

'If you pretended that the regular Urgal were sheep then Kull would be rams with bad tempers. They usually stand at least ten feet tall, have giant muscles full of power, and their endurance is even on par with the elves. We won't be able to sleep if we want to escape them' spoke Durza as they fled form the oncoming army.

They raced through the forest and came upon a lake some ways into the mountain. Eragon and Murtagh's faces were sore from sleeping on the horses as they ran away from the Kull. They let the horses drink from the lake, and Durza pushed some of his magic into all of their bodies. Instantly they were reenergized and the damage done to their bodies from the forced march had been fixed. The horses look extremely thankful, but Durza paid them no heed and turned around to see a group of humans coming their way on horseback.

"What do you think" asked Murtagh as he looked at the oncoming men.

"They could be with the Varden" spoke Eragon with hope in his voice.

"I doubt it. They have the look of greed in their eyes" spoke Durza as he pulled out Zar'roc. It was just like Durza said. These men were not with the Varden, but were slavers that were hear trying to kidnap people to sell to the empire. Durza had no intention of letting them live.

"Now put down you weapons or my friends here are going to fill you boys with arrows" spoke the greed filled human. Durza just walked towards him Zar'roc held firmly in hand. One of them men shot an arrow at him, but fear instantly gripped his heart when the arrow stopped in midair before it was able to hit anything.

"You boys should learn not to mess with people stronger than yourselves, after all, the only thing you guys can do is attack people who cannot defend themselves. I will teach you all the meaning of pain for your crimes" spoke Durza as moved at speed nobody could have seen. He appeared behind the leader, grabbed his head, and pulled it out of his body with pure strength. The act was so gruesome and violent that everyone who saw it, except the dragons, hurled their lunches. Durza was not done there and continued to do the same to every one of the slavers. By the end Durza had a nice little pile of bones and spines covered in blood.

Eragon snapped on him about some crap about killing defenseless people, but Durza just poked at his mind making him freeze up and fall to the ground. Durza was not going to feel guilt about killing people whose profession was abducting people and selling them to people who would make their lives absolutely miserable. He had done the world a favor by getting rid of those people and one day Eragon would understand that. That was when Durza heard the sound of the Urgals gaining on them and quickly mounted Snowfire and continued on his path to the Varden with Murtagh and Eragon hot on his heels. Eventually the made it to a valley, but the Urgals where right on their heels. Eragon said he had a good idea, but Durza just knew it would be something stupid. He was right when Eragon moved a cloud to the ground to try and scare off the Urgals. The boy obviously did not realize that Urgals were fearless, and that doing that bit of magic would be very magically taxing. When it was all said and done Eragon landed beside them on top of Saphira panting heavily.

"Forget the rules of magic Brom taught you so fast huh? What was the point of him teaching you if you don't even have the brains to remember something so simple? Let me repeat it since you are obviously too stupid to remember on you own. Magic is affected by distance" shouted Durza as he looked at Eragon with contempt.

"Look I forgot ok. I am sorry, so can we please continue the Urgals are almost upon us" spoke Eragon.

"You can't use the excuse forever. Eventually you will do something stupid that will get you or Saphira killed and I promise you saying I forgot won't bring either of you back" spoke Durza as he swung his leg upon Snowfire and raced on towards the Varden.

Eragon and Murtagh followed behind him silently, but the dragons took off and were circling overhead, keeping a bird's eye view on the Urgals for them. The Urgals were not to be ignored and constantly gained on them. Durza knew that it was only a matter of time before they caught up to them, so he called for Rebi to come pick him up. He would slow down the Urgals, but he knew they were far too brash to retreat from just one man regardless of what he was or if he was with a dragon when they were in such numbers.

"Where are you going" asked Eragon as he watched Durza jump on Rebi and take to the skies.

'I am going to try to slow down the Urgals. You two keep on going and try to find the Varden and warn them about the incoming Urgals' spoke Durza as he and Rebi took to the skies. Murtagh nodded his head, as did Eragon, and Saphira watched her rider even closer as to make sure nothing happened to him.

As Rebi and Durza flew through the air they saw a large pile of rocks lying at the edge of the valley. The quickly swooped down and picked up as many as they could, and then flew back over the Kull army. The rained down boulders on the Kulls, and were satisfied with their screams, but that did not stop them. The advanced every time they left to get more boulders, but it did give the others the necessary time to distance themselves from Kull. After a while though Rebi started to tire from carrying the giant stones and turned around to catch up with the others. When they got their Eragon and Murtagh were having a heated discussion.

"Are you saying that the only place I can go now and not be killed by Kull is the Varden" shouted Murtagh as he gave Eragon the evil eye.

"What is your problem with the Varden? Why are you so hell bent on avoiding it" shouted Eragon as he poked Murtagh hard in the chest.

"I don't have a problem with the Varden, but they will have a problem with me" shouted Murtagh as he looked at Eragon with fire in his eyes.

"WHY" demanded Eragon as he looked ready to explode from frustration?

"Because I am the son of Morzan, the first and last of the Foresworn" spoke Murtagh with much guilt and sorrow in his voice. Eragon looked very shocked, but Durza had a look or remembrance on his face.

"That is why you look so familiar. You are Morzan's little brat, the one that always had that depressing look on his face. Haha, of now I remember you use to run around the castle doing whatever it was you were told like a little errand boy" laughed Durza as he looked at Murtagh. Murtagh exploded with rage after that.

"Yes I know, but it was the only way to keep myself safe. Now do you see? If I go to the Varden then they will either imprison me, or try to kill me" shouted Murtagh as he through his hands into the air.

"So? I was the king's right hand man for hundreds of years and I am still going to go. I doubt they try anything, and if they do I give you my word that I will make sure they don't do anything to you, and I will even leave if they try to kick you out" spoke Durza as he looked into the distance. That was when he saw the waterfall they were supposed to be looking for.

"Really" asked Murtagh with hope in his eyes.

"Yes now come on or the Kull will find and kill us" shouted Durza. In all honesty he knew he could kill the Kull army. Using his mind to enslave them would be very easy, but if they showed up with an army of Kull at their command it would not make them look that much like allies, but if the Kull were trying to kill them then it would make their story much more convincing. Murtagh nodded his head weakly and mounted his horse and followed Durza towards the water fall with haste. All the while they were being chased by an army of some of Alegasia's most deadly warrior at their heels.


End file.
